Last Updated on August 21, 2026 12:00 pm
The Avery County Sheriff's Office released the following statement Thursday after a standoff at a Newland campground that prompted a brief lockdown at Newland Elementary School:
On Thursday, August 20th at approximately 10 am, the Avery County Sheriff's Office responded to assist the Newland Police Department with an armed suicidal subject at the “Big Mike's Campground,” located at 400 Wyatt Drive, Newland. Responding officers arrived at the campground and located the individual inside an RV camper. Officers attempted to communicate with the subject and assess the situation to determine if the individual was in crisis. Crisis negotiators with the Avery County Sheriff's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene. A mental health clinician also responded.
After several hours of negotiations in an effort to deescalate the situation, the subject refused to comply with any requests to come out and speak with law enforcement. The individual began to make threatening comments toward law enforcement and a special response was initiated.
Special response teams responded and staged near the scene. The campground was evacuated and sealed off by law enforcement with the assistance of Avery County Emergency Management. As a precaution, School Resource Officers were notified at the Newland Elementary School and the school was placed in a lock-down status for a brief period of time. The situation was rapidly confined to the campground area and no other threat existed to the school or the public.
After several hours of communication between negotiators and the barricaded subject, all efforts to gain voluntary compliance from the individual were exhausted. The Avery County Special Response Team made entry through a window and deployed a non-lethal agent in an effort to gain compliance.
The subject was taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. Neither the suspect nor law enforcement sustained any injuries.
Mike P. Henley
Sheriff of Avery County
