A manhunt is underway in Waxhaw after a man ran from officers who were trying to serve a drug warrant, sending police to urge Hillcrest neighborhood residents to stay inside and lock their doors until he's caught. The suspect was last seen near Rehobeth Road and Magnolia Ridge Drive Tuesday, wearing a gray sweatshirt, and hasn't been located as of the latest update.
According to WCNC, Waxhaw detectives were attempting to serve a drug warrant when the man ran from officers. Police described him as a white male, approximately 5-foot-7, with dreadlocks. The outlet reports the story is developing and will be updated as more details emerge.
Hillcrest sits just south of downtown Waxhaw, near Rehobeth Road, a corridor that has filled in with residential subdivisions as the town has grown, according to Canopy MLS. Anyone who spots the suspect is asked to call 911 immediately, per the station's report.
A Town That's Outgrown Its Old Boundaries
The search is playing out in a community that barely resembles the Waxhaw of a generation ago. The town's population more than doubled between the 2010 and 2020 U.S. Census counts, climbing from 9,915 to 20,534 residents, and estimates now put the local population near 23,700, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That kind of growth has turned former farmland along corridors like Rehobeth Road into dense subdivisions, the kind of terrain that can complicate a foot search for police.
The Waxhaw Police Department fields 34 full-time officers and nine part-time auxiliary officers spread across patrol, detective, community policing and other divisions, according to the Town of Waxhaw. For high-risk warrant executions like the one that triggered Tuesday's manhunt, the department routinely trains alongside the Union County Sheriff's Office, which also runs a dedicated Narcotics Bureau that assists municipal agencies with felony drug investigations, per the Union County Sheriff's Office.
How Shelter-In-Place Alerts Reach Residents
Shelter-in-place notices like the one issued to Hillcrest residents typically go out through Union County Emergency Management's CodeRED system, which sends phone and digital alerts directly to residents during active police incidents. That system has become the county's standard tool for warning nearby homes when officers are actively searching for a suspect.
Tuesday's incident is not the town's first high-profile drug enforcement action this year. Hoodline previously reported on a Waxhaw fentanyl death arrest in July, when a Charlotte man was charged with felony death-by-distribution and fentanyl trafficking following a fatal overdose in town. In April 2025, Waxhaw narcotics detectives seized roughly 525 grams of methamphetamine during a high-risk traffic stop on Cuthbertson Road, underscoring the department's ongoing focus on drug trafficking within town limits.
What Comes Next for the Suspect
It remains unclear what specific controlled substances were named in the underlying drug warrant, or whether the suspect will face additional charges beyond the original warrant once caught. Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-223, resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer performing official duties is a Class 2 misdemeanor, and state law treats fleeing on foot differently than fleeing in a vehicle, which can trigger felony charges, according to Dewey Brinkley Law. Whether the suspect will face that misdemeanor charge, a felony evasion charge, or something else entirely has not yet been determined publicly.
Police have not released the suspect's identity, and it isn't yet known whether K-9 units or aviation support from neighboring counties have joined the search. Hillcrest residents are still being urged to remain inside with doors and windows locked until officers confirm the man has been taken into custody.
