4 wild litters of Red Wolf pups born on Albemarle Peninsula, The Red Wolf Recovery Program says
TOO. COMING UP, DYLAN. THANK YOU. TURNING TO SOME OF OUR LOCAL HEADLINES NOW DEVELOPING IN DAVIE COUNTY. THE SHERIFF SAYS HIS OFFICE IS INVESTIGATING A CASE WHERE A TEEN BOY MANIPULATED PICTURES OF HIS YOUNG FEMALE CLASSMATES INTO EXPLICIT PHOTOS. NOBODY HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME YET, BUT THE SHERIFF DELIVERED THE CASE TO JUVENILE AUTHORITIES EARLIER THIS WEEK. SHERIFF J.D. HARTMAN SAYS THE SUSPECT IN THIS CASE IS 15 YEARS OLD. THERE ARE 25 VICTIMS IN THE COUNTY, MOST OF WHOM ARE MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS. HE SAYS THE CASE STARTED 2 TO 3 MONTHS AGO, AFTER A TIP ABOUT SOMEONE DOWNLOADING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. WHEN DEPUTIES SEARCHED THE ADDRESS, THEY DETERMINED THE YOUNG MAN WAS USING INNOCENT PHOTOS OF GIRLS AND EDITING THEM INTO CHILD –. IN A STATEMENT, SHERIFF HARTMAN SAYS, QUOTE, WE ARE CONTINUING TO INVESTIGATE THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES AND PARENTS HAVE ALL BEEN VERY COOPERATIVE. MY STAFF HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY TO IDENTIFY THE VICTIMS AND WILL WORK TOWARD PROSECUTING THIS YOUNG MAN TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW. WXII SPOKE WITH A DAVIE COUNTY WOMAN WHO SAYS SHE WAS ALERTED BY THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE THAT HER DAUGHTER IS ONE OF THE VICTIMS. SHE SAYS AUTHORITIES DO NOT BELIEVE THESE IMAGES WERE SHARED. THE SHERIFF SAYS IF YOU LIVE IN THE COUNTY AND HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED AT THIS POINT, YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT ONE OF THE GIRLS INVOLVED. WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY THROUGHOUT OUR NEWSCAST TODAY. FOR NOW, COVERAGE CONTINUES ON WXII 12.COM AND OUR FREE MOBILE APP. TWO GUILFORD COUNTY NOW, WHERE A MAN IS FACING CHARGES IN CONNECTION TO AN INFANT WHO WAS REPORTED MISSING YESTERDAY. JOHN AUSTIN JUNIOR REMAINS IN JAIL THIS MORNING. THE TEN DAY OLD BABY WAS FOUND SAFE ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER AN AMBER ALERT WAS ISSUED. WXII 12. BETHANY CATES SPOKE TO THE INFANT’S OLDER BROTHER, WHO TOLD US THE BABY’S FATHER IS THE ONE WHO TOOK HIM. HONESTLY, IF THEY DIDN’T FIND HIM, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE WENT LOOKING FOR MYSELF. JALEN AUSTIN SAYS SO MANY THINGS STARTED RUSHING THROUGH HIS MIND WHEN HE LEARNED THAT HIS TEN DAY OLD BROTHER WAS MISSING. I WAS WORRIED. I’M LIKE, WHERE’S HE AT? HAS HE EATEN? DOES HE STILL HAVE MILK IN THE BOTTLE? DIDN’T HE HAVE ANY DIAPERS WITH HIM? WHERE’S THE STROLLER? THE AMBER ALERT FOR HIS BROTHER WAS CANCELED JUST BEFORE 9:00 FRIDAY MORNING. AN OFFICER WAS SEEN HOLDING THE BABY AT THE GREENSBORO HOME WHERE THE BABY WAS LAST SEEN. AUSTIN SAYS HE CAME HOME THURSDAY EVENING TO CHAOS AS EVERYTHING WAS UNFOLDING. IT JUST FELT LIKE A BOMBSHELL WAS DROPPED ON ME. SO AFTER I HAD FOUND THAT OUT, YOU KNOW, I COULDN’T FIND MYSELF TO REST, LEAVING HIM TO WONDER WHERE HIS BABY BROTHER WAS. THIS BABY IS ONLY TEN DAYS OLD. SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN TO HIM, AND IT HAD ME PARANOID. BUT THROUGH IT ALL, HE KEPT REMINDING HIMSELF HE WAS GOING TO BE OKAY. AND SO WAS HIS BROTHER. SO ONCE I FOUND OUT THE BABY WAS SAFE AND IT WAS LIKE A WHOLE 500 KILOS WAS JUST LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS, THAT WAS BETHANY CATES REPORTING. JOHN AUSTIN JUNIOR FACES SEVERAL CHARGES, INCLUDING DELINQUENCY OF A MINOR OR NEGLECT, AS WELL AS RESISTING, DELAYING OR OBSTRUCTING AN INVESTIGATION. NEW THIS MORNING IN FLORIDA, DEPUTIES SAY THEY HAVE FOUND A BODY. IT WAS LOCATED NEAR THE PLACE. A MISSING NORTH CAROLINA TEEN’S PHONE LAST PINGED. HOWEVER, THE BODY HAS NOT YET BEEN IDENTIFIED. GIOVANNI PELLETIER WAS LAST SEEN IN MANATEE COUNTY EIGHT DAYS AGO. ACCORDING TO DEPUTIES, HE WAS WITH HIS COUSINS WHEN HE GOT OUT OF THEIR CAR AND WALKED OFF NEAR STATE ROAD 70 ON AUGUST 1ST. HE HAS NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE. PELLETIER’S MOM SAYS SHE GOT A TEXT FROM HER SON ASKING FOR HELP. LESS THAN 30 MINUTES AFTER HE LEFT HIS FAMILY TRIP IN INGLEWOOD TO MEET UP WITH HIS RELATIVES, WHO HE HAD ONLY SPOKEN TO OVER THE PHONE. HE TEXTED ME AND SOME OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, AND YOU KNOW, HE’S NOT A KID THAT WANTS TO STRESS YOU OUT FOR NO REASON. HE’S NOT A KID THAT WANTS TO BRING UP A PROBLEM. YOU KNOW, HE’LL TRY TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING ON HIS OWN BEFORE HE BRINGS IT TO YOU AS AN ISSUE. THE FAMILY IS OFFERING A $10,000 REWARD FOR ANY INFORMATION THAT HELPS FIND PELLETIER. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING, YOU’RE URGED TO CALL THE CHARLOTTE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. BACK IN THE TRIAD. A JUDGE HAS OVERTURNED THE CONVICTIONS OF THE WINSTON-SALEM FIVE. THEY SPENT YEARS IN PRISON FOR NATHANIEL JONES MURDER IN 2002. JONES WAS NBA STAR CHRIS PAUL’S GRANDFATHER, A DEFENSE ATTORNEY TELLS WXII RASHAUN BANNER, NATHANIEL COFFIN WILL BOTH BE RELEASED ON MONDAY. THEY ARE THE ONLY TWO MEN STILL SERVING TIME IN THIS CASE. THE OTHER THREE, CHRISTOPHER BRYANT, JAMAL TOLIVER AND DORRELL BRAYBOY, WERE RELEASED AFTER SERVING 12 YEARS. A WOMAN WHO SAID SHE WAS WITH THE MEN WHEN THE KILLING HAPPENED TESTIFIED THAT SHE COMMITTED PERJURY AT PREVIOUS HEARINGS AFT
4 wild litters of Red Wolf pups born on Albemarle Peninsula, The Red Wolf Recovery Program says
Updated: 10:48 AM EDT Aug 9, 2025
Four wild litters of Red Wolf pups have been born on the Albemarle Peninsula, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) officials with the Red Wolf Recovery Program.The peninsula is home to the only population of wild Red Wolves in the state. Five Red Wolf pairs are currently spread across that area, with an estimated wild population of around 18 adults and as many as 16 pups. “We are thrilled to hear of more Red Wolf pups born in North Carolina, and we join with FWS and the SAFE program partners in celebrating the announcement,” said Heather Clarkson, Southeast outreach representative at Defenders of Wildlife. “This continued growth in the wild population is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Service and its partners, and to nature’s resilience. Red Wolves are survivors, and with public support and space to roam, they can flourish.” Over the last year, human-caused mortality of Red Wolves has decreased. At the same time, an increase in private landowner partnerships, SAFE facilities and external partnerships have allowed the Red Wolf Recovery Program to sustainably expand while supporting the needs of Red Wolves on the landscape. The successes of the Red Wolf Recovery Program have served as a model for other large carnivore reintroduction programs across the country.For more details on the Red Wolf Recovery Program, click here.
DARE COUNTY, N.C. —
Four wild litters of Red Wolf pups have been born on the Albemarle Peninsula, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) officials with the Red Wolf Recovery Program.
The peninsula is home to the only population of wild Red Wolves in the state. Five Red Wolf pairs are currently spread across that area, with an estimated wild population of around 18 adults and as many as 16 pups.
“We are thrilled to hear of more Red Wolf pups born in North Carolina, and we join with FWS and the SAFE program partners in celebrating the announcement,” said Heather Clarkson, Southeast outreach representative at Defenders of Wildlife. “This continued growth in the wild population is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Service and its partners, and to nature’s resilience. Red Wolves are survivors, and with public support and space to roam, they can flourish.”
Over the last year, human-caused mortality of Red Wolves has decreased. At the same time, an increase in private landowner partnerships, SAFE facilities and external partnerships have allowed the Red Wolf Recovery Program to sustainably expand while supporting the needs of Red Wolves on the landscape.
The successes of the Red Wolf Recovery Program have served as a model for other large carnivore reintroduction programs across the country.
For more details on the Red Wolf Recovery Program, click here.