By Jesse Wood
On his way to the Magistrate’s Office in handcuffs on Tuesday morning, Derick Canter, 24, of Boone, fled custody and was found hiding in a culvert containing Kraut Creek near the old Southern States building, Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman confirmed.
He was initially arrested for failing to pay child support by the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office. Charges pertaining to resisting an officer and marijuana paraphernalia were soon added.
The Boone Police Department and the Appalachian State Police Department responded to the search. To avoid endangering law enforcement personnel, officers with the Boone Police Department administered tear gas to take Canter into custody.
“Mr. Canter received a tearing agent designed to cause temporary disorientation by the Boone PD into the culvert that contains ‘Kraut Creek,’ so as to not expose officers to a confined space and to safely allow Mr. Canter an opportunity to exit on his own,” Hagaman said.
The Appalachian was on the scene reporting and taking photos.
Here’s a tweet storm from Lee Sanderlin with some interesting details of the incident:
Boone PD and Watauga Sheriff looking for suspect. Using tear gas to attempt to flush him out of Boone Creek pic.twitter.com/Vt8rnYOnYv
— Lee Sanderlin (@lee_sanderlin) October 31, 2017
Sheriffs office attempted to take suspect into custody at court house. Suspect ran. No word on what he was arrested for yet
— Lee Sanderlin (@lee_sanderlin) October 31, 2017
One officer thought he heard coughing from the tunnel during initial search..saw splash marks near the entrance to the creek
— Lee Sanderlin (@lee_sanderlin) October 31, 2017
Suspect has been apprehended. Details to come pic.twitter.com/oeGxf5jHcQ
— Lee Sanderlin (@lee_sanderlin) October 31, 2017