By Staff Reports

Law enforcement officers successfully apprehended 32-year-old Shawn Bolding on Wednesday, Oct. 23, following an extensive, nearly 12-hour manhunt. Bolding was captured without incident around 9:30 p.m. near the 5,000 block of Mount Ida Road close to Brantley after a police chase that began in neighboring Covington County.

Captain Mason Adcock, assistant chief of the Luverne Police Department, expressed their gratitude to all the agencies involved, as well as to the community members who assisted in Bolding’s capture.

“Luverne PD was more than happy to assist Crenshaw Co SO with the manhunt for Shawn Bolding,” Adcock said. “We are also grateful to the citizens that reached out and provided us with information. Without the public’s support our job would be much more difficult.”

A Code Red alert issued around 10:35 a.m. to Crenshaw County residents within a five-mile radius of Bolding’s last known location provided a detailed description of the subject and warned the public about the ongoing search, encouraging residents to remain vigilant and to report any sightings or suspicious activity.

Bolding was being pursued in connection with undisclosed charges when he abandoned his vehicle on Mount Ida Road and escaped into a wooded area. The alert described Bolding as a 32-year-old male standing 6-foot-1 with brown hair, blue eyes, tattoos on his arms and a scar above his left eyebrow. 

At the time of the alert, Bolding was last seen in the Springhill Community near the intersection of Springhill Road and Mount Ida Road, close to the water tower.

As a precaution, Brantley and Luverne schools were temporarily placed on a lockdown that was lifted just before 2 p.m. Crenshaw County Sheriff Terry Mears confirmed that the measure was taken to ensure student safety and stated that no threats were reported on any school campuses. Both schools were later thoroughly cleared by authorities.

The agencies involved in the search included the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) Law Enforcement Services Division K-9 Bureau, Alabama Game and Fish, Gantt Police Department, Brantley Police Department, Andalusia Police Department, Luverne Police Department, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Aviation Unit, ALEA Highway Patrol, ALEA State Bureau of Investigation and the Brantley Fire Department.

Crenshaw County Sheriff Terry Mears echoed Adcock’s gratitude, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and communication across jurisdictions.

“I want to thank every law enforcement agency who assisted in this capture along with our phenomenal dispatchers at Crenshaw Central for their diehard dedication and commitment to service,” Mears said. “This was a multi-jurisdictional team effort and it worked out the best way it could. We also very much appreciate our wonderful citizens for their help.”

Bolding is being charged with two counts of theft of property in the first degree, two counts of criminal trespassing, third degree and reckless endangerment.