A small plane was stolen from Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill sometime after 9 p.m. on Monday and then crashed about 20 miles away in a wooded area near N.C. 87 in Alamance County south of Graham. When the plane was discovered around noon, no one was onboard. Blood was found in the cockpit and on the wing.
The UNC Department of Public Safety issued an arrest warrant on the charge of felony larceny for Curtis Rene Mellott, 46, of 114 Mel Oak Drive in Chapel Hill, in relation to the theft. As of The Citizen’s press time Wednesday, Mellott had not yet been apprehended, according to Randy Young of UNC DPS.
Because the investigation is ongoing, Young said he could not reveal how police identified Mellott as a suspect.
The plane is a single-engine, six-seat Piper and is registered to LFW Investments in Hillsborough. Horace Williams closes at 9 p.m., and the plane wasn’t discovered missing until the following morning.
The Civil Air Patrol received a distress signal shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday. The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office responded, but the plane wasn’t located until between 12:30 and 1 p.m. The sheriff’s office notified authorities at UNC, which owns Horace Williams.
– Staff Reports