Lillington Man, 38, Held on $2.5M Bond After Girl, 12, Fled Into Woods

A Harnett County judge set a $2.5 million bond Monday for the Lillington man accused of taking a 12-year-old girl from a sleepover and forcing her into the woods, where she eventually broke free and flagged down a stranger on U.S. Highway 421. Daniel Francis Gear, 38, now faces first-degree kidnapping and assault on a female charges after a manhunt that stretched roughly seven hours before deputies found him hiding in a wood line about 15 miles from where the girl escaped.

According to Law&Crime, the girl had been at a sleepover at the home of a friend who happens to be Gear's niece and next-door neighbor. Arrest warrants allege Gear woke the sleeping girl, told her to get into his truck, and drove her to a wooded area, where he made her get out and physically restrained her while pushing and grabbing her as he forced her to walk. The warrants further accuse him of terrorizing the girl during the ordeal.

The girl eventually broke away and ran toward the road, according to the same account. Jennifer Maxwell, who was driving home from work Sunday afternoon on U.S. Highway 421, told the outlet she saw a young girl emerge barefoot from the woods near the roadway. Maxwell said the child dropped into a ditch and cried hysterically, and when Maxwell asked if she was okay, the girl told her she had been kidnapped. Maxwell then drove her to a police station, where the girl received help; she reportedly had scratches all over her body.

A Judge's Bond Follows Formal Court Appearance

The $2.5 million bond was formally set during Gear's initial court appearance, held before a district court judge rather than a magistrate. Under North Carolina General Statute § 15A-534.1, initial bail conditions for people accused of severe violent felonies or kidnapping must go through a judge, a procedural rule Hoodline has previously explained requires courts to weigh flight risk and public safety before granting release. Gear remains held at the Harnett County Jail pending his next scheduled court date on September 1.

First-degree kidnapping under North Carolina General Statute § 14-39 is a Class C felony, carrying a presumptive active prison term of roughly 3.5 to 15 years for an offender with no prior felony record, per Browning & Long, PLLC. The statute applies when a victim is not released in a safe place, suffers serious injury, or is terrorized or sexually assaulted. The secondary charge, assault on a female under General Statute § 14-33(c)(2), is a Class A1 misdemeanor — the state's highest misdemeanor tier — carrying up to 150 days in jail for adult male offenders, according to Powers Law Firm PA.

Manhunt Focused on Highway 421 and Erwin DMV Area

During the search, the Harnett County Sheriff's Office issued a public alert describing Gear as a 5-foot-8, 240-pound white male with long brown hair and a left-arm tattoo, last seen in a white tank top, shorts, and Adidas slides with socks, and warned residents he was considered armed and dangerous. The alert, posted to the Keep Wayne Coats Sheriff Facebook page, concentrated search efforts around U.S. Highway 421 and the Erwin DMV area before Gear was located in a nearby wood line. Sheriff Wayne Coats, who has led the office for more than seven consecutive years, served as the primary official communicating updates to the public throughout the search.

Following her escape, the girl was transported by emergency responders to a local hospital for medical evaluation before being formally released to her family, according to Star 102.5. Coats confirmed she is continuing her recovery at home with her family.

Neighbors Say They Barely Knew Gear

Susan and Logan Powers told WNCN their 14-year-old daughter is friends with the girl, and Susan said she felt for the parents. Logan Powers said neighbors did not really know who Gear was, adding that he rarely came out of the house and worked from home.

Lillington, about 30 miles southwest of Raleigh, has seen major law enforcement manhunts before. Hoodline previously reported on a fugitive nabbed in deadly shooting case that followed a June 2025 community building shooting and ended with an arrest this past March. U.S. Highway 421, where Maxwell spotted the girl and where Gear was later found, serves as a primary route through rural Harnett County connecting local communities to the broader Research Triangle region — a corridor Hoodline has noted sees frequent emergency responses. The county has also seen rapid exurban growth as commuters head toward Raleigh and Cary, part of a shift guided by planning efforts like the county's Horizons 2040 plan that has increased density across once-isolated rural communities near Lillington.

Investigators have not yet said whether additional charges could follow as they complete their timeline of events inside the residence and during the forced movement into the woods. Gear's next court appearance, scheduled for September 1, is expected to be the next point at which evidence in the case is presented.