Highlands police describe bomb-threat call, lockdown and evacuation of daycares; investigation ongoing

Highlands Police Chief Andrea Holland told the Town Board on Dec. 11 that at about 10:40 a.m. the department received a call reporting a threat directed at a staff member at Highlands Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 520 Main Street. The caller stated an explosive device had been placed in the area but said it was not inside the church.

Officers immediately secured children in the church-affiliated daycare, established a perimeter search and requested assistance from the Macon County Sheriff's Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). Detective Amber Wright made contact with the caller during the response, Chief Holland said, and investigators used phone-pinging and other investigative techniques; the SBI also connected state systems and coordinated wider investigative support.

Chief Holland described moving children onto two buses — escorting about 68 children from one daycare and several younger children from another location — and reuniting them with parents at a staged meeting area. She said the department treated the report as an active threat while responding, and that officers worked to determine whether the call was an actual threat or a spoofed/fraudulent call; she said the investigation remains open and a name widely circulated on social media does not originate from the police agency.

Board members and the mayor publicly thanked the police, sheriff’s department, SBI, fire department and town staff for their response. Chief Holland specifically acknowledged Captain McCall, Tim Broughton and Detective Amber Wright for their roles.

Why it matters: A reported explosive threat prompted a multiagency response and a protective lockdown and evacuation of multiple childcare locations; the investigation's outcome — including whether a suspect will be charged — had not been determined at the time of the briefing.

What’s next: Chief Holland said investigators are continuing identification work; the transcript does not record any arrests or charges by the close of the meeting.