CRIME & SAFETY

OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WECT) - Crews responded to a structure fire Wednesday morning, Dec. 6, on Oak Island. According to a representative with the town, crews were dispatched just after 5 a.m. to the 100 block of NE 37th Street. There was one person inside the home, but they were...

OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WECT) - Chief Pete Grendze of Oak Island Water Rescue announced his departure from the agency in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening. “Over the past two years, it has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve as the Chief of Oak Island Water Rescue. I am immensely grateful for the ongoing support and encouragement that you, our community, have provided throughout my tenure,” Grendze wrote.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - A portion of Camp Branch Road, near Makatoka Road and NC 211, was shut down on Tuesday morning, Dec. 5, as crews responded to a log truck crash, according to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office. According to a representative with the North Carolina State...

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - One lane of US 17 S closed as crews responded to a crash just before 5:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. According to a representative with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the lane is now reopen. A vehicle traveling south on US 17 ran...

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Crews with Leland Fire/Rescue responded to a chemical leak inside a business early Wednesday morning. The incident took place in the 2200 block of Andrew Jackson Highway. Crews evacuated the building and set up a perimeter, while HAZMAT crews worked to contain the leak. North...

BOLIVIA, N.C. (WECT) - Fire and EMS crews in the Bolivia area responded to a crash involving an ATV on Sunday, Dec. 3. The Bolivia Fire Department posted on Facebook that one person was airlifted to receive further medical treatment following the incident, in which an ATV crashed into a building.

WHQR's Ben Schachtman sat down with The Assembly's Johanna Still to talk about our joint newsletter, The Dive. This week, we take a look at law enforcement behaving badly in Bladen, Brunswick, and Columbus counties — plus the fallout from some bad legal advice from the Sheriff in New Hanover County.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — State Troopers are investigating after a fatal hit-and-run incident Wednesday night. It happened just after 8:30 p.m. on NC 904 at SR 1312 in the Longwood area of Brunswick County. A pedestrian, identified as 80-year old Joseph Willis Butler of Shallotte, was crossing the road to help a vehicle that had gone into the ditch. While crossing, an unknown vehicle traveling South on NC 904 hit Butler and took off.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Southport police responded to the scene of a three-vehicle crash at N Howe Street, near Dosher Memorial Hospital, on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The SPD announced that the scene had been cleared just before 8 p.m.

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (WECT) - Emergency crews are still at the scene of a single-car crash on Service Rd. near the Snow’s Cut Bridge in Carolina Beach. According to a trooper with State Highway Patrol, a woman was traveling north of Carolina Beach Rd. when she swerved right and hit a tree, causing the car to overturn multiple times.

• A pedestrian was killed in a hit and run incident in Brunswick County. • The pedestrian was crossing the road to assist a vehicle in a ditch. • The victim has been identified as an 80-year-old man from Shallotte.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Detectives with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit are asking for the community’s assistance in identifying a person seen on video after breaking into a Leland home. The Sheriff’s Office says the break-in took place on N. Fork Way on...

The mystery remains, will we ever have answers? In a startling turn of events, the death of 33-year-old Bald Head Island police officer Davina Buff Jones has been officially reclassified as a homicide, overturning the initial ruling of suicide. The tragic incident on October 22, 1999, unfolded while Jones was on duty, succumbing to a single gunshot wound to the back of her head, fired from her own service weapon.

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WECT) - A fatal Southport crash that involved a pedestrian has been deemed accidental following an investigation, the Southport Police Department announced on Monday, Nov. 27. “Emergency crews were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash on Saturday, November 18th, at approximately 5:45pm,” the SPD release states. “On arrival...

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — The Oak Island Water Rescue is reminding people not all water rescues take place during the day. The group took part in night time operations training last week with a scenario of two lost kayakers. With darkness all around them, the group says they...

A fire Monday destroyed a warehouse building at a farm and garden supply store in Leland. Leland Fire/Rescue crews responded to Hollybucks on Lanvale Road at 1:30 Monday afternoon. When crews arrived, they saw heavy fire coming from the back warehouse, according to a news release. The fire was under control about 40 minutes...

There’s a less-than-one-in-a-million chance of being struck by lightning in any given year. Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David used that analogy five years ago, after the arrest of the Southport police chief Gary Smith and his top lieutenant for wage theft. “Lightning has struck three times here in...

BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C. (WECT) - The Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department has announced that it is looking for 13-year-old Jonny Tomas Francisco. According to police, Francisco was last seen at approximately 11 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, in the 1000 block of Morehead Road, near Fifty Lakes Drive. “Last...

This week in Brunswick County, North Carolina, there were three incidents that impacted safety. A barn fire on Hwy 17 in Calabash resulted in the closure of the highway in both directions. In Leland, a fatal motorcycle crash occurred at the intersection of Village Road and South Navassa Road, claiming the lives of two individuals. Additionally, a rollover crash on River Road near Southport caused the closure of one lane. Emergency crews responded to all incidents and advised drivers to exercise caution and expect delays in the affected areas.

SHALLOTTE, NC (WWAY) — The Shallotte Police Department held a toy drive Tuesday in the hopes of filling a cruiser with gifts. The event was held at Walmart with dozens of toys being collected. All donations will go to Brunswick Family Assistance.