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Brunswick Co. Sheriff’s Office searching for missing teen

Brunswick Co. Sheriff’s Office searching for missing teen

July 15, 2025

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) is searching for 17-year-old Lexica Dana Blankenship. According to BCSO, Blankenship is 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs around 115 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. BCSO says she was last seen in the Civietown Road area wearing pink shorts, a black

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Folly Hills development plan approved despite concerns from neighbors

July 15, 2025

BOLIVIA, N.C. (WECT) – The Brunswick County Planning Board approved the Folly Hills Development Plan at Monday night’s meeting. The plan is for a 146-acre development near Southport that would include 200 single-family homes. Members of the planning board called the plan a well-thought-out proposal, but several neighbors spoke out against it. Neighbors say the

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Horry County family pleads guilty in missing N.C. man’s murder

Horry County family pleads guilty in missing N.C. man’s murder

July 15, 2025

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – Four people admitted to their roles in a North Carolina man’s murder just before their trial was supposed to start. Online records show Samantha, Payton, Jonathan and Amber Watts all pleaded guilty on Monday before jury selection got underway in the case. Left to right: Samantha Watts, Payton Watts, Jonathan

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Father and sons walk to Western North Carolina to raise $40,000 for food insecurity

Father and sons walk to Western North Carolina to raise $40,000 for food insecurity

July 15, 2025

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – One Wilmington family took the trek to walk over 1,100 miles to support relief efforts in Asheville. Lucien Ellison and his two sons, Jack and Archie, began their walk in the Outer Banks at Jockey’s Ridge on May 10, walking to the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains, and finishing

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Oak Island officials respond to accident involving 15-year-old on beach strand

Oak Island officials respond to accident involving 15-year-old on beach strand

July 15, 2025

OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WECT) – Oak Island Public Safety units responded to an accident that left a 15-year-old injured on July 14. Units found the juvenile at 2:11 p.m. on the beach between Keziah Street and Womble Street. According to the Oak Island Police Department, a vehicle that was performing survey work had run over

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“It’s frustrating”: Overcrowded animal shelters in Bladen County

“It’s frustrating”: Overcrowded animal shelters in Bladen County

July 15, 2025

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -Bladen County animal shelters are overcrowded, and A Shelter Friend, a non-profit rescue organization, is fighting it one paw at a time. Silvia Kim is the co-founder of A Shelter Friend, and she knows all too well about the shelters that are running out of room. “It’s a very large county by

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Shark Awareness Day at Fort Fisher highlights growing threats to ocean predators

Shark Awareness Day at Fort Fisher highlights growing threats to ocean predators

July 15, 2025

FORT FISHER, N.C. (WECT) – With nearly one-third of all shark species threatened with extinction, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is using Shark Awareness Day to do more than entertain, it’s sounding the alarm on the growing threats facing one of the ocean’s most critical predators. On Monday, the Aquarium hosted the event

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Five UNCW Seahawks taken in 2025 Major League Baseball Draft

Five UNCW Seahawks taken in 2025 Major League Baseball Draft

July 15, 2025

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Five members of the UNCW baseball team have been drafted in the first two days of the 2025 Major League Baseball draft. Pitcher Zane Taylor was picked in the fifth round by the Oakland Athletics. The senior righthander from Franklinton, North Carolina was named Pitcher of the Year in the Coastal

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Local hospice organization starts using A.I. to help patients

Local hospice organization starts using A.I. to help patients

July 15, 2025

BOLIVIA, N.C. (WECT) – The use of artificial intelligence is growing across the country and even changing how people can do their jobs. It’s something many have learned to lean on for creating content, getting quick information or asking questions. Now it’s helping volunteers at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare, a hospice care organization in Brunswick

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Columbus County deputy cited after crash along U.S. 76

Columbus County deputy cited after crash along U.S. 76

July 15, 2025

COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – A Columbus County deputy was cited after a crash on US-76, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP). A spokesperson with NCSHP confirmed that Deputy Timothy Bryan Stewart, 21, was moving west on Thursday, July 10, at approximately 1:38 p.m. when the crash occurred. The deputy reportedly collided

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