Stephens County Manhunt Ends in Arrest

Yesterday afternoon, local law enforcement officials as well as Hart and Franklin County deputies and Georgia State Patrol Troopers spent several hours scouring the woods off of Highway 106 near Old Mize Road, looking for a suspect that Stephen County Sheriff Randy Shirley described in a post on Facebook as “armed and dangerous.”

In the social media post, made at 4 p.m., Shirley stated, “To: Stephens County residents in the Mize Road, Old Mize Road, Broad River Road, Buena Vista Drive, Freeman Creek Road: We have an active shooter who is on the run in a wooded area off Mize Road and Old Mize Road. He is armed and dangerous. Lock your doors. DO NOT GO OUTSIDE. We have K9 and GSP air support on the way.”  Shirely described the suspect as a white male in a black hoodie, black sweatpants, and one red Nike tennis shoe. 

According to scanner traffic during the search, the incident involved a traffic stop during which the suspect fired a weapon, but no official confirmation or details on the incident have been released.

Stephens County High School Assistant Superintendent John Stith confirmed that school buses had been rerouted due to the manhunt, but said that no Stephens County School System schools were put on lockdown. 

WNEG News was on scene at the intersection of 106 and Old Mize Road, just to the south of the Highway 17 Bypass, as the search was underway, but officials made no comment regarding the search or the cause for it, and have not responded, as of press time this morning, to requests for information. 

At approximately 6 p.m., WNEG News received confirmation that the suspect was in custody. 

WNEG News will continue to monitor this story and provide additional information as it is released by law enforcement officials.