Roy Lee Elkins, 50, was fatally shot on Prices Creek Road in the Prices Creek community of Burnsville, North Carolina, on August 30, 2024. The Yancey County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, opened an immediate probe; authorities arrested Grant Blankenship shortly after the shooting and charged him with voluntary manslaughter. Blankenship was released later that evening after posting a $100,000 secured bond. Law enforcement has released no further details and the investigation remains ongoing.

Elkins is remembered by family as full of life and fond of outdoor activities such as fishing and riding his dirt bike and four-wheeler. He is survived by his parents Ben and Marvelene Austin Elkins, his sister Teresa Wilson, and several nieces and nephews; a private graveside service was held in the family cemetery.

If anyone in the Prices Creek area has information about what happened on August 30, please come forward.