Rare robbery shouldn’t stop many from visiting Greeneway, North Augusta authorities say

NORTH AUGUSTA, SC. (WRDW/WAGT) - Police are still looking for a man accused of robbing two people at gunpoint as they walked on the Greeneway in North Augusta.

We know many of you are concerned, but the North Augusta Department of Public Safety says this is extremely rare.

They say they’re still looking for the robbery suspect, but in the meantime, they’re telling people not to let this event stop them from getting out on the Greeneway.

“We don’t have a whole lot of criminal activity on the Greeneway,” Lt. Tim Thornton said.

Thornton says the agency gets more calls for medical issues than criminal issues.

“Those events are extremely rare,” Thornton said. “Any type of criminal behavior that we encounter, it catches us off guard to the point that we’re surprised.”

The robbery surprised people who were walking the Greeneway that day, too. Steve Letchford frequents the trails sometimes.

“We were out just running the other day. We didn’t know what had happened. We just saw a bunch of cop cars down where we had parked our car,” Letchford said.

Thornton says the department has put extra patrol on the Greeneway to give people peace of mind. He says the incident shouldn’t stop people from visiting.

“I was out here yesterday exercising. I wouldn’t think twice about coming out here,” he said.

In the meantime, he says travel in pairs, and use your judgment while out on the Greeneway.

“Be aware of your surroundings. Be alert at what’s walking down the trail at you,” Thornton said.

While most of us probably like to travel light when we go run, Thornton says it might be good to carry a whistle or pepper spray. Even if you hold it in your hand as you run, it could deter someone from picking you as a victim.

We also checked with Richmond County about incidents at the Augusta Canal in the last year. They’ve recorded nine incidents in the last 12 months and just one assault.

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