Man who vanished in national forest last year is now facing murder charge, NC cops say
A man who vanished into a North Carolina forest for eight days last summer is back in the news after being charged with murder, deputies said.
Joshua Kenneth Clauson, 20, was arrested and charged in connection to the death of 46-year-old Newport man Daniel Andrew Brisson on March 21, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Facebook.
A passerby driving along the 100 block of Harris Road in Newport on March 20 spotted a man — later identified as Brisson — lying in the road, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver pulled over and called 911.
The sheriff’s office hasn’t said how Brisson died and the investigation is ongoing, according to the news release.
In addition to the murder charge, Clauson also faces a driving while impaired charge, a felony probation violation charge. Also, he did not have a driver’s license when deputies arrested him.
Clauson is being held without bail on the murder charge at the Carteret County Detention Center, according to arrest records.
There is no indication by authorities that Clauson’s disappearance during 2021 and Brisson’s death are connected, but Brisson’s body was found within 20 miles of the Croatan National Forest, where Clauson had vanished last year.
Clauson and a family member were walking through the forest on May 29, 2021 when the two of them got lost and were separated, McClatchy News previously reported.
Clauson’s relative was able to find his way out of the forest by listening to the sound of cars, but Clauson remained missing.
Search and rescue teams scoured the forest for five days until crews gave up the search, according to WCTI. Three days later, Clauson walked out of the national forest, the outlet reported.
Clauson is registered as homeless in Newport, according to the sheriff’s office, and his first court appearance was held on March 22.
McClatchy News reached out to Carteret County Sheriff’s Office for comment and did not receive a response.
Newport is about 143 miles southeast of Raleigh.
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