Stroupe kidnapped man8/15/2023 ![]() The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office issues a be-on-the-lookout alert for a breaking-and-entering suspect in Mills River, leading a deputy to attempt to stop a vehicle similar to the one in the description. He bails out of prison the next day and does not appear in court July 20 on second-degree kidnapping charges. Phillip Michael Stroupe II is arrested for speeding and fleeing from police on a Harley-Davidson without license or registration and presenting a false name and ID to an officer July 19. Stroupe was sent back to Central Prison in Raleigh Tuesday.Ĭompiled by Asheville Citizen Times reporter Derek Lacey It almost destroyed a family but you talk about one strong, resilient family and a community.” “Occasionally you just see pure evil and you experience acts of pure evil," he said. "This is one of those occasions. Polk County also assisted in the search for Bryson. Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin was working for the Polk County Sheriff's Office at the time of Bryson's disappearance. "That day in July 2017, evil stepped into our world, unconscionable evil, that did an unthinkable thing to this good man.” “Everybody described Tommy as a good man (with) a good family," he said. Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney assisted in the search for Bryson. People in the Mills River community have been much more cautious since Bryson's kidnapping and death – some started carrying firearms, he said. It is good to get some closure and put this behind us." "We shared in their (Bryson family) grief. "It was a nightmare for the entire community," Livingston said. They went to church together for several years. ![]() ![]() He got off easy."īoth natives of Mills River, Bryson and Livingston enjoyed hunting and fishing together. If that makes me a bad person to say that he deserves to die, then so be it. "Has justice been served? I'm not really sure. "From a personal selfish standpoint, I'm a little bit disappointed because Stroupe deserves to die," Livingston said. Mills River Fire Chief Rick Livingston, a longtime friend of Tommy Bryson, told the Times-News Tuesday that he supports and respects the family's decision. More: 3 charged with harboring armed kidnapper one still on the run More: DA Andrew Murray drops charges against Stroupe Sr. He can take evil and he can make good out of it and I think I have seen that today." "God is in control of everything that happens in this world. "You don't think something like this could ever happen to you, but it does, and there were so many people that felt love for us that we didn't even know that didn't even know Tommy. "This was the worst nightmare that anybody could ever face," she said. Lynn Bryson described Tommy as a quiet man who would be astonished by the support people have offered to his family. She also thanked the thousands of people who searched for her husband and strangers who offered love and support. Tommy Bryson's wife, Lynn, thanked the Mills River community, which she said has stood behind her and her family for the past four years. Rick Bryson said if he had the chance to talk to his dad today, he would say: "Deer season's right around the corner. "After four years, however, we have begun to heal," he said. The family will "never completely get over" their loss, Joey Bryson said. More: Stroupe to fire lawyers, represent himself at Bryson murder trial More: Attorneys, medical experts question Stroupe II's capacity to represent himself in capital murder trial "I think my brother and I talk about this a lot – I would've just liked to have been able to say goodbye, but he was left in a cornfield for six days." "My dad wasn't ready to leave this world," said Rick Bryson, Tommy Bryson's son. "He encountered an evil man and this man for some reason thought he had the right to take my father out of this world. On July 22, 2017, police say Stroupe fled from a traffic stop and disappeared into Pisgah National Forest on Highway 276 in Transylvania County, sparking a manhunt that ended July 27 when Stroupe was found in McDowell County driving Tommy Bryson’s truck.īryson, 68, went missing July 26, and his body was found in an Arden cornfield July 30. View Gallery: Candlelight memorial for Thomas Bryson
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