Philip D. Brown

Richmond County Daily Journal

The hunt was on Wednesday afternoon for three men seen running from a marijuana field in the area of Cartledge Creek Road and N.C. 73 in the northern end of the county.

The field was spotted during a fly-over by the North Carolina Air National Guard which deployed three helicopters to the scene, along with one from the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Phil Sweatt said the three men ran during the initial fly-over, and were subsequently spotted by a deputy crossing Cartledge Creek Road.

Details of the men’s physical descriptions were unavailable because they had not been seen up close, but Sweatt said all three men were wearing dark clothing when spotted.

Sheriff’s deputies tracked the men with bloodhounds and the airborne assistance.

Also participating in the manhunt on the ground were members of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and Hamlet Police Department. All three agencies had officers posted along the roadways of Cartledge Creek and N.C. 73.

This is the third large field of marijuana discovered by the RCSO in about a month.

About 6,770 plants were seized as the result of an investigation in early May and another 30,000 plants were seized last week as the result of an investigation by the RCSO Vice/Narcotics Unit.

More details on the latest bust of a marijuana field will be published when they become available.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.