Burglar, Disturbed?

It now appears a burglar may have been interrupted while doing his thievery in a rural North Wilkesboro home. A deputy following up on the theft reported Monday night says the victim, Lou Ann Morris, found the jewelry that had been reported stolen, wrapped up in a blanket and partially spread out under her bed. All of the jewelry, valued at over 3-thousand dollars, was there. The burglar had broken into the house, an dit will cost about 400 dollars to repair the damage to the back door. A neighbor says he saw a burgundy Chevy leaving the house, and described a man for deputies that he saw in the driveway before the car sped off. The man was white, he had brown hair and was about 5-7 or 5-8, 150 pounds, and was wearing a light tee-shirt and blue jeans. Deputies list the case as under investigation.

Ring Stolen During Weekend Party

Deputies will have a number of people to interview, as they follow up on the theft of a 2-thousand dollar ring reported yesterday. Elizabeth Freas tells deputies her son had a party over the weekend while she was out of town. When she got back to town, a diamond and sapphire ring she had left laying on the bathroom counter was missing. Mrs. Freas says there were more than 30 people at the party -- something confirmed by a sheriff deputy who issued a ticket for the noise at the party getting out of control Saturday. Once she is able to compile a list of people believed to be at the party, deputies will be able to start the process of interviewing them all.

Burglary Nets over $3K in Jewelry

Sheriff deputies may have some leads in a burglary at a rural North Wilkesboro home Monday. The break-in was reported about 7pm, by a neighbor who heard the noise of the burglar breaking in the back door. The victim, Lou Ann Morris, was at work at the time. The thief took a number of items of jewelry, including a diamond necklace worth 1-thousand dollars, bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry worth over 2-thousand dollars. The broken-in back door was valued at 400-dollars. The neighbor says he saw a burgundy Chevy leaving the house, and described a man for deputies that he saw in the driveway before the car sped off. The man was white, he had brown hair and was about 5-7 or 5-8, 150 pounds, and was wearing a light tee-shirt and blue jeans. Deputies list the case as under investigation.

Kidnapping, Other Charges Face Wilkes Man

It is possible to kidnap a person without taking them anywhere. Kidnapping is one of the charges facing 23-year old Jonathan Cole Lovette, following an incident yesterday morning at a home on Highway 16 North. Sheriff deputies were called to Kayla Johnson's home about 6:20 a-m, when someone called 9-1-1 saying Lovette had showed up and demanded to see his ex-girlfriend, Natasha Keels. According to a crime report, Lovette pulled a gun on Johnson, but she would not let him in the house to talk to Keels. He went out to her car and broke out all four windows, kicked two of the doors and damaged them, and then kicked in the back door of the house and barged in. Deputies say he repeatedly tried to make Keels leave with him by pointing the gun at her. When deputies arrived, he dashed out of the house and sped off in a small, dark colored car. later in the day, Lovette turned himself in and was charged with Fist-Degree Burglary, Assault, Damage to Property, Kidnapping, and Assault on a Female. He was jailed on a 15-thousand dollar bond.

Spools of Wire Stolen

A power company contractor tells sheriff deputies someone has gotten away with quite a bit of expensive copper wire. Johnny Greer, who works for RACO, Incorporated, tells deputies he arrived at a location near Traphill Road and Swaringen Road where two reels of wire were being stored on trailers yesterday morning, and found the wire was gone. Over the weekend, thieves took a more than one-thousand feet of electrical cable, worth more than 14-hundred dollars. There are no suspects in the case.

Auto Shop Burglarized

A local auto shop reports someone has stolen almost 22-hundred dollars worth of radios and other electronic equipment from his shop. Terry Hart says it happened sometime between early Sunday and opening time yesterday, someone entered several vehicles at the garage and took the equipment. The stolen items include two AM/FM radios, a computer, a CB radio, and AM/FM/CD radio unit, a scanner, two speakers, several tools, and a radiator. Hart says he doesn't know who might be the thief. The case remains under investigation.

Michael Auberry Dehydrated, But Okay

Seachers with the help of a sharp-nosed dog named Gandolf 12-year-old Boy Scout Michael Auberry about 11 this morning. Searcher Misha Marshall said Gandolf detected Michael's scent and alerted rescuers. When they approached Michael, "he was a little disoriented, but he's great," Marshall said. "It took him a minute to realize we were there for him," she said.



Michael was found about 1½ miles from the campsite from which he disappeared. Michael was "weak but in good condition."



Michael was across the stream from the trail when Gandalf caught his scent, she said. He wasn't calling for help, but he wasn't crying either, and he appeared to be in good physical condition, she said.



"He just said, 'I'm hungry,'" Marshall said. And he wanted some water.



Joe Ware, Assistant Fire Chief in McGrady, said the boy told the rescue team that picked him up that he had been drinking some water out of the streams in the area.



"He was calm," though a bit disoriented as he talked to the rescuers, Ware said. "He wanted peanut butter crackers and water."



Aerial footage showed Ware and other rescuers carrying Michael from a white sports-utility vehicle into a ranger station in nearby Laurel Springs. Police held a large, white sheet over the boy as they carried him into the station. The boy needed minor medical treatment for dehydration. Auberry reached the Blue Ridge Parkway shortly before 1 p.m. Shortly afterward, he and his parents gathered at a parkway office.

Michael Auberry Found

Searchers are reporting they've found 12-year old Michael Auberry. In the past hour, rangers at the search command post have confirmed finding Michael alive, but it is not clear what his condition is. We have uncomfirmed reports that he was found by searchers with the Traphill fire department a little over an hour ago. Before reports surfaced that Michael had been found, the boy' father, Kent Auberry, said he was concerned, but not overly worried that his son, who's been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, does not have his medication with him.



Auberry, a Greensboro, North Carolina, attorney, said if he had it to do all over again, he would allow Michael to take part in the camp out.



"I trusted the Boy Scouts to take him on this trip," Auberry said. "When we find him, I will trust the same group to take him on a trip again."



He said he knows the members of the Scout troop well. "Someone asked me yesterday if there's anyone to blame, and there's no one to blame," Auberry said. "This happened in the blink of an eye, and I hope that soon we'll know the story."



Michael is a veteran of eight overnight camping trips, which his father said would help him survive a wilderness ordeal. "They do a great job in the Scouts of educating the kids about what to be aware of, and tips. I'm hopeful that Michael has taken those to heart."

Boy Scout Lost, Search Resumes Today

The search resumes this morning for A 12-year-old Boy Scout who is missing in Wilkes County. Police said Michael Auberry, of Greensboro, N.C.,was last seen at about 11 a.m. Saturday after a hike in Doughton State Park -- near Stone Mountain State Park. Auberry was part of the Greensboro Boy Scout troop 230 and was described as Caucasian with reddish-brown hair, about 5 feet 4 inches and weighing 110 lbs.



Investigators said he was last seen wearing blue jeans, a red jacket with reflector tape on it, and a dark North Carolina TarHeel baseball cap. Rescue crews said they are searching the trails in Doughton Park as Auberry's father waits at the troop's campsite. Emergency managers said the area is unique in that the elevation changes 2,000 feet in a five-mile period. Rescuers said they expected two more dog teams and six more counties are to join the already 15-agency search for the boy. Stone Mountain State Park covers nearly 14,000 acres.

Shots Fired, Tire Flattened

Shots fired in anger, but the only charge resulting is for damage to the tire flattened by a bullet. That's the outcome of a recent call worked by sheriffs deputies in the Boomer area. They were called to the 97-00 block of Highway 18 south Saturday night for the shots being fired. They found a 26-year old Wilkes man in his vehicle at Highway 18 and Fall View Road. He was badly shaken up, but unhurt. He first told deputies he had been outside the vehicle, running form another man, when the other man shot at the vehicle. Later, as he calmed down, he changed his story, saying he believed he was already in the pickup when the shots were fired. Where he was makes a difference in the possible charges that can be filed in the case.



The man went on to tell deputies he had visited the shooter's house nearby, to check up on him because he knew the man was using drugs. He went inside the house, and the man was unresponsive, a crack pipe laying on his chest. The man's mother went into the house and got him awake -- then he ran outside, threatening the vicitm and demanding to know what he had done with the man's gun. The victim had no idea where the gun was. The man went back into the house, came out with the gun, and told the man he had five seconds to get off the property before he'd be shot. The man did fire several shots -- one into the ground at the victim's feet, one into a tire, which went flat, and one hit the pickup.



When deputies calmed him down, the man refused to press charges for assault, damage to property, or communicating threats.