HAMPSTEAD, N.C. (WECT) – The Pender County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday, Aug. 12, that a man accused of murdering his sister was located in Chardon, Ohio.

The sheriff’s office had announced that Matthew Edward Dolan was wanted in connection to a homicide case in Hampstead.

According to 911 calls, the caller confirms that the house is full of law enforcement and that their family is on vacation. The caller told dispatch they are from New Jersey It is unclear if the child is from Jersey or if the family is also law enforcement, but the child had turned six.

Caller: “412 Masters Lane has a house fire.”

Dispatcher: “412 Masters Lane?”

Caller: ” A big house fire, yes ma’am, I’m beating on the door right now to make sure everybody is out of the house.”

Caller: “I can’t tell the flames…oh wow!”

Dispatcher: “What’s that noise, something exploded?”

Caller: “Something just blew up. Yeah.”

There has been no word yet on whether a service weapon was involved in the shooting or if any charges have been filed yet.

Dolan was taken into custody by the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and is waiting for extradition back to North Carolina.

Geauga County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the Pender County Sheriff’s Office after Dolan showed up at a family member’s house. According to GCSO officials, the family member had learned what happened and called GCSO to tell them that Dolan was at their home.

Sheriff Hildenbrand said the family member locked up the house and wouldn’t let Dolan in the house.

GCSO called PCSO to verify that the incident in NC occurred and that there was a warrant for Dolan. When deputies arrived at the house, Dolan was standing in the driveway next to his car.

Deputies ordered Dolan out to the street where he was arrested without an incident and then took him to the jail. Sheriff Hildenbrand said Dolan will not waive extradition, which means they will need to have an extradition hearing in Geauga County for the judge to order Dolan to come back and the state of NC will need to get a governor’s warrant.

Detectives from Pender Co. are on their way to Geauga Co. right now.

In response to any weapons or personal items found in Dolan’s car, Hildenbrand said they’re in the process of getting a search warrant for his car.

“Authorities here and in Ohio are to be commended for bringing Mathew Dolan into custody. We will work to extradite him to Pender County to face justice as quickly as possible,” District Attorney Ben David said in a statement.

Per the sheriff’s office, multiple calls came to the 911 center about a structure fire at Masters Lane in Hampstead at around 9 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11.

While fighting the fire, Megan Elizabeth Dolan was found in the residence.

Neighbors in the Greenway Plantation neighborhood where the Dolan family lived tell WECT it’s hard to believe it happened.

“I was just like, ‘Wow, in my neighborhood? Really?’ You don’t ever see that,” said James Bond, a resident of the Greenway Plantation neighborhood.

Bond has lived in the Greenway Plantation neighborhood in Hampstead for over a decade.

“You don’t think about your neighbors as being like that. In this neighborhood, everybody is genuinely friendly,” said Bond.

After further investigation, the sheriff’s office determined that Megan Dolan was murdered before the fire. District Attorney Ben David said during the press conference that the fire and killing are believed to be related.

Law enforcement and neighbors call it a tragic story.

“Please continue to keep this family in your thoughts and your prayers,” said Sheriff Cutler.

“I thought, well, maybe it’s a simple fire, but it ended up being where the person that lives in the house lost their life in the fire,” said Bond.

Dolan was a recent UNCW graduate, according to the university, and graduated in May.

This is a breaking news story; more details will be added as soon as possible.

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