South Carolina

Charleston

$300 million harbor deepening moves to water

The $300 million job to deepen the Charleston Harbor shipping channel has already moved to the water.

For the past several weeks, Coastal Carolina University scientists have been methodically surveying areas near the existing shipping channel to record what’s on the bottom. They are looking for historical artifacts and getting an idea of what the soils are like in areas that would be widened and deepened.

The work is part of nearly $2 million in contracts for harbor studies recently awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The State Ports Authority wants the harbor channel deepened from 45 feet to 50 feet so the port can handle larger container ships that will routinely call when the Panama Canal is expanded.

Bennettsville

Driver dies in fiery crash Sunday

The driver of a Chevrolet Impala died early Sunday morning when their car ran off the right side of US 15 near Sandy Ocean Barbecue, struck a tree and burned.

The north-bound driver wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Lance Cpl. Bob Beres, South Carolina Highway Patrol, said.

The crash remains under investigation, Beres said.

Kingstree

North Carolina

Fort Bragg

Soldier killed in Afghanistan

A soldier from Arizona and based at Fort Bragg has died from small arms fire while on patrol during combat operations in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department said Sunday that 29-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Ryan J. Savard of Sierra Vista, Ariz., died Saturday in Khanabad District, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

Savard was originally from Jefferson, N.H. He graduated in 2001 from Buena High School in Sierra Vista.

The governors of both Arizona and New Hampshire ordered that flags be flown at half-staff Sunday in honor of Savard.

Pittsboro

Body found Wednesday may be missing woman

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office is trying to determine whether a body found Wednesday morning in northern Chatham County is that of a Siler City woman reported missing Thursday. The case is being treated as a homicide.

An autopsy was done Thursday afternoon at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Chapel Hill, but a cause of death has not been determined, the sheriff’s office said Friday.

The body is a white woman, with dark hair, estimated to be 25 to 35 years old, with multiple tattoos on her arms and legs.

Family members of Daphne Forster, 38, of Siler City reported her missing Thursday afternoon. She was last seen Tuesday night in Pittsboro.

Forster is white with long dark hair and multiple tattoos.

The sheriff’s office is working to identify characteristics on the body found with those of Forster.

Asheville

Biologist: Parts of Western NC a de facto bear sanctuary

A biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission says much of Buncombe County is a de facto bear sanctuary as the human population continues to grow.

Biologist Mike Carraway tells the Asheville Citizen-Times that Asheville, Black Mountain and Highlands are hotspots for this year’s complaints about encounters with just a few coming from rural areas.

Western North Carolina set a record for bear nuisance complaints last year with 430, partly because of a poor mast crop that forced bears to look for food from people. The tally so far this year is 275.

Carraway says the hunting season is the only tool for managing bears, but many bears live in areas where they can’t be hunted. A conservative estimate of the mountain bear population is 5,000 to 6,000.

Fayetteville

Police try to find man who robbed same bank twice

Police are asking for help in identifying a man investigators think is responsible for two robberies at the same west Fayetteville bank.

The robberies happened at the BB&T at 7790 Good Middling Road a Fayetteville police news release said.

The most recent robbery was reported Oct. 5, the release said. The man came into the bank just before 3 p.m., displayed a handgun and took an undisclosed amount of money. Witnesses reported seeing the man leave the area in an older model black four-door sedan, possibly a Dodge Stratus, with tinted windows and no license plate.

The first robbery was reported Aug. 24 and happened just before 3:30 p.m., the release said.

The man walked into the bank, showed a handgun and demanded cash. He left, with an undisclosed amount of money, in a gray or silver sedan.

The robber is about 5 feet 6 inches tall, has a thin build and a military-style hair cut, the release said. He appears to be in his late teens or early 20s. From wire reports