Search on for Missing Constable

[Willowdared]

LINCOLNVILLE, South Carolina (AP) -- Dozens of officers and bloodhounds from across the state searched for a law enforcement officer Tuesday who disappeared after a nighttime traffic stop, officials said.

The officer's cap, bullet casings and blood were found in a yard, and his empty cruiser was later found on fire.

"We will utilize every asset that we need to find this officer," Capt. Mike Benton of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office told The Post and Courier of Charleston Tuesday.

The officer, a state constable who works as a volunteer for the Lincolnville Police Department, had made a traffic stop about 10:30 p.m. Monday, Benton said.

"He cleared from the traffic stop, and about four minutes later, the sheriff's office received a call that there were shots fired in the area," Benton said. "We found a gun and blood."

A telephone message left with the sheriff's office Tuesday seeking further comment was not immediately returned. Along highways near Lincolnville, electronic signs listed a fugitive alert and described a black Chevrolet Caprice leaving the scene.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division sent agents to help in the investigation, spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said.

Constables assist law enforcement agencies and may carry firearms. They must complete a basic training course at a state technical college before they can be appointed by the governor. The missing constable's name was not released.

Lincolnville is a small town about 20 miles west of Charleston.

[Beans]

Man that is awful. It does not look good, all we can do is pray for the best.

[gozling]

thoughts and prayers...
how awful

[BigDawg]

My thoughts and prayers for a safe return.

[Detective7653]

http://policelink.com/news/articles/...issing-officer

LADSON, S.C. (AP)—Dozens of police officers and bloodhounds searched for a missing constable Tuesday after his empty cruiser was found in flames several miles from where he was last seen at a traffic stop, authorities said.

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said authorities had identified a ’’person of interest’’ who was being sought on an unrelated weapons charge.

But he said officials don’t know what happened to Robert Lee Bailey, a 66-year-old constable who works for the Lincolnville Police Department.

’’It certainly does not look good. But we are hopeful. We have no explanation for what occurred,’’ Cannon said. He said the shooting was not believed to be related to the traffic stop.

Bailey was last seen when he pulled a vehicle over about 10:30 p.m. Monday in Lincolnville. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots a few minutes later, and Bailey’s cap, two guns, bullet casings and blood were found in a yard.

About an hour later, a Highway Patrol officer spotted Bailey’s burning car in the parking lot of a church off Interstate 26.

Cannon said officials wanted to speak to a 24-year-old man wanted on a federal weapons charge. Walter Fayall, of St. Stephens, was being sought by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. No charges had been filed against him in the missing officer case.

Authorities also issued an alert for a black Chevrolet Caprice. Along highways near Lincolnville, a small town about 20 miles west of Charleston, electronic signs listed a fugitive alert.

Gary Tucker, data analyst for Faith Assembly of God Church, saw the charred remains of the cruiser early Tuesday. ’’I just noticed it was a police car and it was torched. And the back window was smashed out,’’ he said.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division sent agents to help in the investigation, spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said.

Constables assist law enforcement agencies and may carry firearms. They must complete a basic training course at a state technical college before they can be appointed by the governor.

[lewisipso]

[Willowdared]

Law enforcement: Missing constable is a retired Dorchester County Sheriff's deputy

By Nadine Parks (Contact), Glenn Smith (Contact)
Originally published 09:41 a.m., May 15, 2007
Updated 02:15 p.m., May 15, 2007

LINCOLNVILLE — Law enforcement officials said the constable who disappeared Monday night and is presumed kidnapped is 67-year-old Robert Lee Bailey, a retired Dorchester County Sheriff's deputy.

"We don't have any real idea what happened," Sheriff Al Cannon said today. "And we may never know."

Law enforcement also identified Walter Fayall, 24, as a "person of interest" in the disappearance and related shootings, although they have not yet said why they believe he is involved. Fayall is currently wanted on a federal warrant for a firearm violation.

It was about 10:30 p.m. when Sgt. Richie Hill, the sole paid police officer in this little town, heard the shots from his office. He knew Bailey, a volunteer Lincolnville police officer who is retired from his previous full-time job, had been on a traffic stop just down the road on West Smith Street, so he radioed the dispatcher to check on him, said Capt. Mike Benton of the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.

Police would later learn the traffic stop had nothing to do with the disappearance, Benton said. But the constable didn’t answer the radio.

Shortly after the stop, however, 911 calls rang in to the Sheriff’s Office from residents concerned about gunfire.

Sheriff’s deputies and Summerville police searched the area, and a Summerville officer found a frightening scene on Greenwood Street off West Smith Street. The cap the officer wore to identify himself as a constable, along with two semi-automatic handguns, bullet casings and a lot of blood were scattered in the street and yard in front of a home, Benton said. Shell casings appear to have come from two guns, one of them Bailey's, Cannon said.

As word spread and local police agencies broadcast lookout information for the constable and his cruiser, a S.C. Highway Patrol trooper traveling on Interstate 26 spotted smoke on Farmington Road in the Sangaree area. He made his way around the winding frontage road that runs between I-26 and the neighborhood, and the flames led him to the Lincolnville police cruiser. It was parked behind Faith Assembly of God and torched near the building. A volunteer fire department extinguished the fire. Bailey was not found with the cruiser, Benton said.

A massive search is on today, and the focus is now in Harleyville.

“We ask the community to pray for him,” Benton said . “He is a missing (police) family member, and we are not going to stop until we find him.”

Constables are appointed to assist law enforcement agencies. They must complete a basic training course at a state technical college before the State Law Enforcement Division will recommend their approval by the governor.

Constables can carry firearms after completing a qualification course. They may intervene in "imminent and urgent circumstances."

The incident occurred less than two months after two Moncks Corner police officers were killed in the line of duty.

Cpl. Marcus Stiles and Pfc. Lonnie Wells were shot March 25 while responding to a domestic dispute call outside the town's limits. The shooter, Gary Douglas, later died from a gunshot wound while trying to outrun Berkeley County Sheriff's deputies in a stolen police cruiser.

Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.

To provide information about the constable’s disappearance, call the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office at 202-1700 or Crime Stoppers at 554-1111.

Timeline of the events:

10:28 p.m. — The constable clears from a traffic stop on West Smith Street.

10:32 p.m. — Several citizens call 911 and report shots fired in the area of Greenwood Street.

11:01 p.m. — A Summerville police officer finds a constable cap, two handguns and a large amount of blood in the street and in a yard on Greenwood Street.

11:40 p.m. — A S.C. Highway Patrol trooper finds the constable’s town police cruiser ablaze at Faith Assembly of God on Farmington Road in Sangaree.

[BEB]

Bit of update - more items found yesterday, he's still missing.

3 arrested in search for S.C. constable
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/...nsEca__69vzwcF
By BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press Writer Thu May 17, 11:45 AM ET

HARLEYVILLE, S.C. - Authorities arrested two more men as they searched for a missing constable, whose empty cruiser was found in flames, police said Thursday.

The constable, Robert Lee Bailey, disappeared Monday night while patrolling the small community of Lincolnville, about 20 miles northwest of Charleston. His hat and gun were found in a yard, and his torched cruiser was discovered behind a church off nearby Interstate 26.

Wednesday evening, a group of children found Bailey's badge and handcuffs case wrapped in a wad of burned rags in Harleyville, another 20 miles up the interstate, authorities said.

The two men in custody were arrested on unrelated charges, but they are associates of Walter Fayall III, who is considered a "person of interest" in Bailey's disappearance, said Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon. Fayall, 24, was arrested in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday on federal weapons charges. No charges had been filed Thursday related to Bailey's disappearance.

"I feel good about where we are in terms of the investigation," the sheriff said.

Authorities are investigating whether Fayall lived in a house in Lincolnville near where gunshots were heard about the time the 67-year-old constable disappeared.

There was still no sign of Bailey Thursday morning. About 75 officers were searching the rural Harleyville area.

[Willowdared]

Crews looking for missing South Carolina constable find shallow grave near interstate

CAMERON, S.C. — Crews looking for a state constable last seen making a traffic stop found a shallow, freshly dug grave today, authorities said.

A special team trained to preserve clues was painstakingly digging up the body, which had not been identified, Charleston County Sheriff's Capt. John Clark said.

Robert Lee Bailey, 67, was last seen Monday night in Lincolnville, 50 miles from the grave.

A few minutes later and a few blocks down the road, gunfire was heard. Bailey's hat and gun and a pool of blood were found in a yard and his burning cruiser was found a few miles away off Interstate 26.

Later, his badge and handcuffs case were found in a wad of burned rags near Harleyville, about 20 miles farther up the interstate.

Authorities moved their search Saturday after talking to the girlfriend of the main suspect in the case, Clark said.

Bailey, a retired deputy, was a constable with Lincolnville for about five years, volunteering his time to the small town which has only one paid officer.

[Autumn2009]

God, how awful.

[Star Man]

Any updates to this story?

[Buttercup]

http://www.lawenforcementforums.com/...ad.php?t=15836


That's so horrible.

[Terminator]

It's now being reported that they found his dead body.

[gozling]

that is just horrid

[BigDawg]

I can only imagine what they put him through before they killed him. how awful.

My thoughts and prayers go out.......RIP my Brother

[Ducky]

I can only hope it was quick. RIP.

[countybear]

Rest easy, brother.

May justice find this evil swiftly and decisively.

[Cidp24]

[Resident Smart Ass]

R.I.P.

Praying for his family

[Bosco3379]

Absolutely terrible