After weeklong manhunt with 300 S.C. officers, murder suspect caught

CHESTER, S.C. (WBTV) - A murder suspect who has been at the center of a week-long manhunt in Chester County is in custody.

Tyler Terry, 26, has been on the run since May 17. He was taken into custody on Monday, the seventh day of an intense manhunt. Deputies say Terry was homeless and had been living in the woods, explaining how he has avoided capture for so long.

Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey held a press conference shortly after Terry’s capture.

Dorsey said that Sunday was “the break we were looking for” when law enforcement learned Terry was seen running across Highway 9 from Lincoln Road. From that point, Dorsey said, they knew the area Terry was in. As the sun went down, a perimeter was created and a plan was developed that included hundreds of law enforcement personnel dividing into “push teams” to flush Terry out.

The sheriff said Terry was found lying on the ground in an area of “high weeds” and taken in by federal agents. He was unarmed at the time and didn’t have a phone, but Dorsey said a firearm was found nearby “within the proximity of his person.”

Chester County deputies say everyone, including Terry, is now safe. No shots were fired during his arrest.

“I want to thank the community for their patience,” Dorsey said. “I know there’s been a lot of high anxiety, frustration, maybe even doubt we were going to come through... I hope this has validated to the community what our commitment is.” He added that the capture wouldn’t have happened without the public’s help.

Dorsey said tracking Terry was difficult due to the canopy of trees making searching overhead difficult, dry conditions making it hard to track and the that the heat made it hard on their dogs who were helping with the search.

Terry will be taken to the Chester County Detention Center where he’ll be quarantined 10 to 12 days, per COVID-19 protocol. “He’ll be taken care of just like all the other men and women at our detention facility,” Dorsey said.

Specific charges are forthcoming, but Dorsey said Terry will be charged in S.C. first. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

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