Authorities in Union County have brought charges against Zaire Witherspoon, a Monroe man, after he was found with three juveniles who went missing from a treatment facility in Wadesboro, North Carolina. As WCNC Charlotte reported, Witherspoon is accused of facilitating the unauthorized departure of the three teens from the Cornerstone Treatment Facility on January 19, a situation later substantiated by a Facebook post from the Wadesboro Police Department.
According to FOX8, the operation began after the Union County Sheriff's Office received intelligence that Witherspoon, age 26, might have been harboring a missing 13-year-old. Following the tip, deputies conducted surveillance and managed to tail Witherspoon to a convenience store, where the adolescent was discovered in his vehicle. Their thorough investigation allowed them to swiftly locate and secure the individual.
During his interview with detectives, Witherspoon admitted to taking not only the 13-year-old, but two other teens aged 16 and 17 from the same foster home. "I’m thankful for the hard work and quick coordination between our deputies, the Wadesboro Police Department, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation," Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said in a statement obtained by The Charlotte Observer. The other two teens were later located, one in Scotland County and another in Robeson County.
Witherspoon faces three counts of felony kidnapping and a misdemeanor for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He is being held at the Anson County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. Authorities say the allegations involve a deliberate effort to remove the juveniles from state care.
