CONFIRMED: Tennessee escaped inmates died after Brunswick Co. crash

It has been confirmed that two inmates who escaped a Tennessee jail on Friday died after a crash in Brunswick County on Saturday.

NAVASSA, NC (WWAY) — It has been confirmed that two inmates who escaped a Tennessee jail on Friday died after a crash in Brunswick County on Saturday.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation confirmed on Tuesday that the escaped inmates from Tennessee were the two people who died following a crash in Navassa on Saturday morning.

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office says Tobias Wayne Carr, Johnny Shane Brown, and Timothy Allen Sarver escaped the Sullivan County Jail on Friday by climbing through the air vents.

It was initially believed the inmates had escaped to Virginia but early on Saturday morning Tobias Carr and Timothy Sarver allegedly robbed the Speedway convenience store in Sneads Ferry. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office says the clerk at the store says he was robbed at gunpoint and tied up around 4:30 am. The two suspects stole money from the register and ran away in the clerk’s car, a chase followed.

Multiple agencies assisted in the chase as it went through Onslow, Pender, New Hanover, and Brunswick Counties. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed in Brunswick County around 6 am.

WWAY has reached out to multiple agencies to confirm the cause of death, but the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the SBI say they are not able to share that information at this time.

The SBI is the lead agency on this case and the investigation is still ongoing.

Johnny Brown is still at-large.