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Darwin Awards
2011 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Shoplifting Suspect Drowns

2011 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- One woman has died and another is presumed dead after the pair of shoplifting suspects ran away from a loss prevention officer at Burlington Coat Factory on Friday.

The incident happened at 2516 Sardis Road North at about 2:45 p.m.

According to authorities, three suspected female shoplifters at the store were being chased, and two of them - including 43-year-old Gracie Johnson - left the store and ran away while the third woman hid in the store.

A loss prevention officer chased after the two women and all three of them went into McAlpine Creek, which was rushing with water after Friday’s heavy rainfall.

"All three went into the water," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe. "The loss prevention officer managed to come out of the water. We do believe the two females remained in the water."

One body was recovered because the female was wearing an electronic bracelet monitor. The deceased woman has been identified as 43-year-old Gracie Nell Johnson.

The second female is presumed to be dead but her body has not yet been recovered. The officer made it out of the stream, while the other two women floated away.

Friday evening, NewsChannel 36 spoke with Stephen Johnson, Gracie Johnson's husband. He said that the missing woman is his 16-year-old daughter, Rihanna Johnson.

“They couldn’t find my daughter. [Police] didn’t tell me where she was at and what are the circumstances,” he said.

Charlotte Fire Department officials said they had to call off the search around 9 p.m. Friday night because of dangerous conditions. The search for that missing woman will continue Saturday morning.

Shoplifting suspect drowns; search on for 2nd person By Meghan Cooke macooke@charlotteobserver.com Posted: Saturday, Aug. 06, 2011 Slideshow « Prev of 3Next »

Gracie Nell Johnson, 43. CMPD photo.

Charlotte firefighters and police searched a creek behind the Crown Point Plaza shopping center off East Independence Boulevard after receiving a report of two people who were swept away there. Police said the pair was suspected of shoplifting from a nearby store. Meghan Cooke - macooke@charlotteobserver.com Buy Photo | Store Police, firefighters and paramedics hold up sheets to block the view of the body of a drowning victim as it was transferred from an ambulance to a medical examiner truck Friday evening. The woman was apparently swept away in a swollen southeast Charlotte creek as she was chased from a clothing store where she was suspected of shoplifting. Meghan Cooke - macooke@charlotteobserver.com Buy Photo | Store

The search resumed Saturday morning for a person who was missing after being swept away Friday afternoon in a swollen creek.

The missing person was among two women chased chased from a southeast Charlotte clothing store, suspected of shoplifting. The other woman drowned in the creek.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said they received a report of a larceny around 2:20 p.m. at the Burlington Coat Factory in Crown Point Plaza shopping center off East Independence Boulevard.

When police arrived, one person was already in custody. But two others, police said, had fled.

A security guard ran after the two others, apparently chasing them behind the shopping center, down an embankment and into a creek that rose quickly after heavy rain Friday.

The security guard was able to escape the creek and told authorities where he last saw them.

Around 4 p.m., firefighters found 43-year-old Gracie Nell Johnson about an eighth of a mile away from where officials said she entered the creek. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Arrest records show Johnson was arrested June 30, charged with felony common law robbery. She was convicted of misdemeanor larceny in 2008, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.

Firefighters continued searching for the other person as paramedics transferred Johnson's body, covered by a sheet, from an ambulance to a medical examiner's truck.

The other suspect is believed to be a relative of Johnson's, according to Observer news partner WCNC-TV.

Normally the creek is so shallow one could easily walk across it, said Charlotte Fire Capt. Rob Brisley. But on Friday, it had swollen to about 14 feet deep after heavy rain pounded the Charlotte area.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's canine unit was called to the scene to assist in the search, which was called off just before 9 p.m. Brisley said firefighters would resume their search Saturday morning.

The security guard was apparently unharmed.

A police crime scene van was parked in front of Burlington Coat Factory on Friday night, as customers continued their shopping.

Employees referred questions to the store's corporate office, which could not be immediately reached for comment.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Editor's note: Comments have been disabled due multiple abuse reports. Please refrain from profanity, obscenity, spam, name-calling or attacking others for their views.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/08/06/2507862/suspected-shoplifters-try-to-cross.html#ixzz1UGLtFWkG

Submitted on 08/06/2011

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Charlotte Observer August 6, 2011

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
Thanks, but this sort of thing is extremely commonplace. We have lots of stories in the archives of people swimming where they shouldn't, including while attempting to flee the authorities.


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
What Bruce said.


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