SHELBY, N.C.,None — A Shelby tow truck driver followed his instincts and led police to an abducted North Carolina teen on Wednesday.
Beano Francis, the co-owner of Francis Bros. Used Cars in Boiling Springs, heard an Amber Alert on the radio Tuesday.
Tyler Ross Cole, a West Virginia man, was suspected to be behind the disappearance of a teenage girl from Alamance County. Officers said Cole, 18, had met the girl on the Internet. The girl was last seen getting into Cole's Ford Escort on Monday.
On Wednesday, Francis saw a car that fit the description he heard on the alert passing him on Interstate 85 South near Greer, S.C. He noticed that the license plate was from West Virginia.
"The numbers even seemed to match," Francis said Thursday.
Francis told Tara Botts, the office manager in the tow truck with him what he suspected. They decided to call 911 and the dispatcher told them to follow the car while officers were sent to stop the suspect.
Continue reading below
"The driver got onto that we were tailing him," Francis said, adding that the suspect started trying to evade Francis' tow truck.
Francis said that the driver pretended like he was turning off the highway without actually doing so, exited the highway without warning and made a U-turn. In spite of the burly size of his tow truck, Francis was able to keep up with the Ford Escort.
The suspect driver went onto S.C. 101 between Greenville and Spartanburg, S.C., before returning to I-85, Francis said.
Eventually officers pulled over the suspect. Francis stopped his truck and watched as more officers arrived. He watched as the girl was led into the police car. He and Botts then continued on their route.
Cole was charged with first-degree kidnapping, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and felonious larceny in Alamance County, according to Randy Jones, the director of public information at the Alamance County Sheriff's Office.
He is being held under a $25,000 secured bond in Cherokee County on a charge of criminal sexual conduct, according to Sgt. Vera Holly of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.
Francis said he usually doesn't pay so much attention to Amber Alerts.
"Somehow, it sunk into my head," he said.
Botts rode with Francis for the whole chase, and was at first very surprised at his suspicions about the car.
"That's just something you don't really hear every day," she said, adding that the suspect's erratic driving removed all doubt about Francis' suspicion.
"Pay attention and keep your eyes open, ‘cause you never know when something like that can come your way," Francis said.
[ Click here to read more stories from Channel 9's newspaper partner, the Shelby Star. ]