A North Carolina man accused of fleeing deputies in a stolen vehicle apparently wasn’t ready to surrender after crashing the car. Instead, authorities say he took his escape into the Intracoastal Waterway, eventually leading investigators to a marsh where he was taken into custody.
According to the Pender County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and detectives responded to Pelican Walk in Hampstead on September 24, 2026, regarding a stolen vehicle. When they located the vehicle and contacted a man nearby, he told them he had borrowed it before suddenly running away on foot.
The man eventually returned to the stolen vehicle, giving himself another opportunity to escape from deputies. He drove through residential yards and off-road areas before crashing near the intersection of Ballast Point Road and Sloop Point Road.
Unfortunately for the driver, leaving the wrecked vehicle behind didn’t put an end to the search. Residents soon contacted authorities after spotting a man matching the suspect’s description swimming in the Intracoastal Waterway, prompting deputies to expand their search onto the water.
Deputies Bring Out Help
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The Pender County Sheriff’s Office deployed drones, boats, and K9 teams to search the surrounding area, with several other agencies joining the effort. Investigators focused their search on the Virginia Creek area after receiving information about the man swimming through the waterway.
Following an extensive search, deputies located 19-year-old Lorenzo Nickholas Claiborne hiding in a marsh and took him into custody. By then, the incident had progressed from an encounter involving a stolen vehicle to a search that required assistance from multiple law enforcement and emergency response agencies.
The large police presence also prompted North Topsail Elementary School to enter a precautionary soft lockdown while authorities searched for the suspect. According to the sheriff’s office, the school’s resource officer monitored the situation throughout the incident, and the department did not announce any injuries connected to the pursuit.
Suspect Also Wanted in Virginia
Claiborne was arrested on several charges stemming from the incident, including possession of a stolen motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, felony fleeing to elude arrest, and resisting, delaying, or obstructing officers. The sheriff’s office also listed operating a vehicle without a license and a disorderly conduct offense involving a school among the charges.
However, deputies discovered that Claiborne’s legal problems extended beyond North Carolina, as he was also wanted in Prince George, Virginia, in connection with an abduction by force involving a juvenile. The sheriff’s office did not provide further details about that case or indicate whether it was connected to the stolen vehicle investigation.
Pender County detention records list a $20,000 secured bond for the stolen vehicle possession charge, with several other North Carolina charges included under that bond. A separate fugitive-from-justice charge carries no bond, consistent with the sheriff’s statement that Claiborne was being held in the Pender County Jail without bond pending extradition to Virginia.