Public Safety

Wally Whaley will serve 18 to 20 years in prison for molesting children in Tabor City. District Attorney Jon David said Whaley pled guilty to multiple charges in Superior Court Thursday. Whaley, 62, will be required to register as a sex offender on his release from prison, and may have no contact with the victims. Court documents show that Whaley was charged with multiple counts of indecent liberties...

An elderly woman who wandered away from home was discovered Tuesday while deputies were gearing up for the second search in a week. Family members called 911 just after 5 p.m. Tuesday when the 93-year-old woman was discovered missing from her home near Chadbourn. The sheriff’s office said deputies were interviewing relatives and neighbors when they were contacted by the person who originally called 911. The caller said...

Narcotics agents from Columbus and New Hanover counties say a Chadbourn man was a major part of a narcotics trafficking ring that stretched across multiple counties. Cortez Mikell Smith, 30, of 118 S. Wilkes St., Chadbourn, was being held under $78,500 secured bond. In Columbus County, he faces four charges of trafficking in methamphetamine, and one count each of manufacturing the drug, possession with intent to manufacture sell...