Search for armed and dangerous man on the run in South Carolina ends, FBI says
The national search for an armed and dangerous man ended Wednesday in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, according to the FBI office in Columbia.
Michael Burham, 34, was tracked down in the Charleston area and arrested on a federal charge for the unlawful flight to avoid prosecution following a days-long manhunt, the FBI said in a news release.
The fugitive was also wanted on state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, the FBI said.
Burham was taken into custody near United Drive and Halfway Creek Road in the Huger community close to the Berkeley-Charleston county line, according to the release. That’s about 15 miles from Awendaw, where Burham was last seen prior to his arrest on Tuesday night.
Burham was tracked down by police dogs after an “observant resident” saw Burham near the resident’s home in rural Berkeley County and called 911, the FBI said.
Neither Burham nor any law enforcement officers searching for the wanted man were hurt, according to the release.
There was no word if Burham was armed when he was taken into custody.
Wanted
Burham was on the run after a crime spree, including a sexual assault in the Buffalo area of western New York, in addition to the kidnapping of an elderly couple in Pennsylvania, the FBI said.
The couple said Burham kidnapped them from their home, drove them in their vehicle to North Charleston — where he released them physically unharmed on Sunday, according to the release.
Burham is also considered a person of interest in the May 11 death of a woman whose body was found in the street, The Buffalo News reported.
Searching in SC
After the couple was released, they contacted the North Charleston Police Department, which joined the FBI and multiple other law enforcement agencies searching for Burham.
Burham reportedly was seen multiple times in the following days, and a Berkeley County sheriff’s deputy contacted Burham on Tuesday.
Deputies received a 911 call from the Halfway Creek Road area of Huger about a suspicious man, and they were able to track him down, the sheriff’s office said.
The man gave deputies a false name and then ran off, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies chased the man, but he was able to get away, according to the sheriff’s office. During the chase, the man dropped a bag and inside were articles that confirmed Burham’s identity, the sheriff’s office said.
At about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Burham was seen near Broomstraw Hill Road in Awendaw, the FBI said. That’s near the Atlantic coast.
Now that he has been apprehended, Burham will be extradited to New York to face his charges there.
Peaceful resolution
“The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation,” said Steve Jensen, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Columbia. “This matter was resolved quickly and peacefully because of the cooperation between the community who remained alert and law enforcement who persisted in their pursuit of this fugitive.”
The search, on the ground and in the air, involved members of the FBI; Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; North Charleston Police Department; South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, U.S. Marshals; S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services; Charleston County Sheriff’s Office; S.C. Department of Natural Resources; Summerville Police Department; City of Charleston Police Department and Mount Pleasant Police Department.
“I am grateful to all the law enforcement agencies who came together and put in hundreds of hours of hard work to get a dangerous man out of our communities,” said Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano.
Both Graziano and Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis thanked residents who served as extra eyes on the streets, and submitted tips leading to Burham’s arrest.
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This story was originally published May 25, 2023 at 9:21 AM.
