Seventeen-year-old James Devon Snipes was reported missing from his Olivia Road home in Lee County, North Carolina on August 22, 2023; his mother’s Hyundai Tucson was reported stolen the same day. The next day Sanford police and Lee County deputies located that Tucson. A pursuit ended at Broadway Road and Cox Mill Road when the Tucson collided with another vehicle and overturned. The driver fled through the sunroof but was caught, along with two passengers — a 19-year-old and two juveniles. Two firearms were recovered from the vehicle, one reported stolen from Harnett County, yet Snipes was still unaccounted for.

On August 24 investigators searching a wooded area near Buffalo Lakes Road and Cooks Lane in Harnett County found Snipes’ body. On August 31 the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office announced juvenile petitions charging two 17-year-olds with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy; both were held in juvenile detention. Authorities have not said whether those juveniles were among the people taken from the Tucson or disclosed a motive. Did anyone in the Sanford or Lee County area see the Tucson near Olivia Road or Horner Boulevard around August 22–23?