A 17-year-old Prince George County girl is back home with her family after being abducted from a Richard Bland College parking lot and driven through three states before authorities intervened. She was recovered safely in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, while the man accused of taking her, her 19-year-old former boyfriend, kept fleeing until deputies pulled him from a North Carolina waterway.
The teen, who attends Prince George County High School and takes dual-enrollment classes at Richard Bland College, failed to return after class Wednesday and did not contact her family, according to WTVR. Investigators later found her car still in the campus lot, along with personal belongings and her cellphone, details that Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Office Major William Knott said raised immediate concern for her safety.
Richard Bland College's Dual-Enrollment Program
The abduction is believed to have occurred on the West Campus, and the Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Office led key parts of the investigation. In 2024, Richard Bland College reported 1,950 dual-enrollment students and partnerships with roughly 25 high schools and academies, per Richard Bland College. The program lets high school students pursue college coursework and an associate degree.
Investigators identified the victim's former boyfriend, 19-year-old Alonzo N. Claiborne, also of Prince George County, as the suspect. Authorities said he had no prior criminal record, according to WTVR. Investigators used Flock cameras and other technology to track Claiborne as he crossed state lines.
The Chase Reaches South Carolina
Myrtle Beach police first spotted a vehicle matching the suspect's description driving northbound in the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 17 Bypass near Grand Dunes Boulevard at 1:34 a.m. Thursday, according to the Post and Courier, touching off a pursuit through Horry County and North Myrtle Beach. During that South Carolina leg of the chase, Claiborne put the teen out of the vehicle, allowing officers to secure her safety, according to Country Legends 88.5.
Knott said the teen's safety allowed authorities to return her to her family in Virginia. Claiborne, however, fled on foot at the end of the first chase on Main Street, then later stole a second vehicle, per the Post and Courier's account of the pursuit.
Flock Cameras Track the Suspect Into North Carolina
From there, the trail led into North Carolina, where Flock Safety camera alerts led the Pender County Sheriff's Office to locate the vehicle. Claiborne reportedly jumped out, briefly returned to the car, then fled again. Deputies placed him in handcuffs before he jumped into the Intracoastal Waterway and was pulled out by boat, per WTVR's reporting.
The tracking that made the arrest possible relied on a network described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as more than 120,000 cameras spanning 49 states, used by upwards of 7,000 law enforcement agencies to log vehicle data in real time and search it across state lines. That capability is exactly what allowed deputies in three states to keep pace with Claiborne without losing his trail.
Notably, the pursuit through Horry County played out as local residents there pursue a petition effort seeking to ban or restrict the same license plate reader networks over privacy concerns, according to MyrtleBeachSC news. The case lands squarely in that ongoing debate over how far such surveillance tools should reach.
Charges Pending Across Three States
Claiborne now faces multiple charges in Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, and officials with the Myrtle Beach Police Department said the multi-agency investigation remains active. Additional charges may be forthcoming.
A friend of the victim told WTVR the abduction was frightening and that the teen did not deserve what happened to her, adding that she felt nervous upon learning of the abduction and relieved once she heard her friend had been found that same morning. Claiborne faces charges in three states.
