Schools reopen as search for suspect continues

All Marion County, Tenn., schools will be open today as a manhunt continues in the Whitwell area, Superintendent Mark Griffith said.

Schools will operate on a “soft lockdown,” with police presence on all campuses, he said.

Authorities have been searching for robbery suspect DeWayne Halfacre since Monday. Halfacre eluded capture after police arrested his alleged partner, Timothy Howell, prompting the massive manhunt in the area between Whitwell and Powells Crossroads in eastern Marion County.

County Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett said he is beefing up patrol as deputies continue searching the area where Halfacre was last seen.

He said several deputies with his office, as well as agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, have been searching for Halfacre, who is considered to be armed and dangerous.

“A lot of these guys have been operating off three or four hours of sleep,” he said of the officers involved in the days-long manhunt. “Right now we’ve exhausted about all of my people and we just haven’t located this man.”

Burnett said investigators have no idea on Halfacre’s whereabouts, including if he’s even still in the county. Burnett said his office has received several calls from people thinking they’ve spotted Halfacre, but each one has turned out to be a different person.

The now three-day ordeal began Monday when the two men attempted to break into Andy’s Market in South Pittsburg but the burglar alarm went off, Burnett said. The initial investigation there led to a vehicle description that was issued to authorities in the area, Burnett said.

A Whitwell police officer spotted the vehicle about 4 a.m. CDT and tried to stop it but the suspects sped away until they ended up on a dead-end road and crashed. Howell was taken into custody quickly, but Halfacre has been at large ever since.

The two men are also suspects in robbery incidents in Ringgold, Ga., and Rutherford County, Tenn., that also happened Monday.