The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:43 PM
Police Asking Sevier County Businesses For Help Nabbing Suspect Identified In Murder Of NC Man Who Visited Here
They're looking for information that could be found in security footage to help piece together a timeline of where the suspect was and what he was doing.
The Henderson County Sheriff's Office believes Phillip Stroupe was somewhere near Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, or Dandridge from about 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday before traveling back to North Carolina.
They're asking businesses to check footage for Stroupe or the 2007 Honda Ridgeline he was driving.
Several businesses in Sevierville said they didn't know they should be looking. So officials are working to get the word out.
The sheriff's office believes the victim, Thomas Bryson, was killed in about 20 minutes after being abducted last Wednesday morning.
His body was found Sunday in Arden.
Stroupe, the suspect in the case, was arrested last Thursday in McDowell County after a statewide manhunt.
Some businesses said they didn't know how far back their records go; another said their security cameras will overwrite footage after seven days. With the incident happening a week ago, if investigators don't get the right video soon, they could lose potential evidence.
