A manhunt ended with two in custody yesterday afternoon. The chase began Thursday morning when authorities say 32 year old Nathaniel James Effler of Tennessee and a female ran from Mitchell County deputies who were responding to a domestic violence call.
Deputy Shane Hilliard says the chase continued into Yancey County, but officers backed off because of school traffic and the dangerous situation caused by the suspect driving on the wrong side of the road.
Authorities say the duo eventually abandoned their vehicle on Plum Branch Road and ran into a rural, wooded area. Hilliard says officers tracked them with bloodhounds throughout the day. Yancey County school buses were held on the roads until Superintendent Kathy Amos received clearance from the Yancey Sheriff’s office. School Resource Officers were placed on four buses that traveled through search area Thursday afternoon.
According to Hilliard, the subjects walked to a cabin then hitched a ride with an unwitting resident to the Dollar General store in the Newdale community where they were apprehended in the afternoon.
Effler, is accused of grabbing a deputy’s firearm, resulting in officers using a stun gun. Effler faces several charges in Yancey County, including felony reckless driving to endanger, aggressive driving, resisting a public officer, and assault on law enforcement officers. He was given a $100,000 bond. He faces a felony flee to elude arrest charge in Mitchell County and was given a $25,000 bond. The female subject has not been charged at this time. The investigation is continuing.
