Ohio teen who fled Georgetown County arrested by officers, man still wanted

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – Georgetown County deputies say a 17-year-old who fled the scene of an accident on Pawleys Island has been found.

The teenager, whose name has not been released by officials, was in Myrtle Beach, Georgetown County spokeswoman Heather Pelham said.

The boy fled the scene after the driver of a vehicle refused to stop for a Georgetown County sheriff’s deputy, she said.

A second person involved in the incident, 19-year-old Payton Baldridge, has active warrants and officers are still searching for him, Pelham said.

An officer discovered a vehicle reported stolen from Ohio with two men and two women on Martin Luther King Drive in Pawleys Island on Monday, she said. A chase began that ended in an officer-involved collision with a civilian vehicle and another single-car collision involving the suspects in the stolen car, officials say.

The driver, whom officers identified as Baldridge; and a male passenger, the 17-year-old; He ran into the woods, but officers arrested the two female passengers, Pelham said.

Deputies say the 17-year-old will be sent back to Ohio to face charges.

Anyone with information on Baldridge’s whereabouts is asked to call the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office at 843-546-5102 or Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111.

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