Top stories: Horry County teen linked to violent group. Settlement in murder case

Top South Carolina beaches, Atlantic Beach discusses fallout over bike fest and a Horry County teen arrested for being linked to violent online group. These are the top stories published on May 28, 2026.

Here’s a quick look at what made headlines in the Myrtle Beach area.

• Six Grand Strand and South Strand beaches landed on USA Today’s top 10 list of the best beaches in South Carolina, with Pawleys Island taking the No. 1 spot and North Myrtle Beach coming in at No. 2 on the rankings released Wednesday. Surfside Beach ranked No. 3 and central Myrtle Beach took No. 7, while Huntington Beach State Park landed at No. 4 and Litchfield Beach at No. 6 in the expert panel and reader-voted list of South Carolina’s best beaches.

• Interim Atlantic Beach town manager Titus Leaks said no changes are planned for future festivals, calling the law enforcement response effective and arguing the incident was “blown out of proportion” by national media coverage of one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the U.S., which draws 300,000 to 400,000 people. A stampede at the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival on May 24 injured 19 people and hospitalized three, marking the second consecutive year of crowd-related injuries at the event.

• A confidential settlement was reached May 26 between OnStar and the family of Mary Ann Elvington, an 80-year-old Horry County woman kidnapped from her Nichols home and killed in March 2021. The lawsuit alleged OnStar refused to provide Elvington’s location to her son despite having access to her 2011 Buick LaCrosse’s tracking data, and Dominque Brand was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences plus 10 years in federal prison for her kidnapping and murder.

• A 16-year-old Horry County resident has been arrested after being linked to a “violent online network” that exploits minors. The Horry County Sheriff’s Office sent out a news release Thursday afternoon warning parents about the group titled “764.” The network uses blackmail and manipulation to coerce minors into “producing, sharing, or live-streaming acts of self-harm, cruelty, sexually explicit acts, and/or suicide.”

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

Terri Richardson

The Sun News