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James Edward Coe caught after nearly 30 years as fugitive

James Edward Coe had escaped a North Carolina prison on June 23, 1986. He was arrested for shoplifting Sunday in Surfside Beach, South Carolina.

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Horry County police
71-year-old James Edward Coe was arrested by Horry County police Sunday morning for shoplifting.
  • By Staff Associated Press

| Surfside Beach, S.C.

Authorities say a fugitive from North Carolina who had been on the run for nearly 30 years has arrested in Surfside Beach, South Carolina.

Multiple news outlets report that 71-year-old James Edward Coe was arrested by Horry County police Sunday morning for shoplifting. Records from the North Carolina Department of Corrections show Coe had escaped a North Carolina prison on June 23, 1986.

Coe was convicted in April 1984 on two counts of receiving stolen goods in Forsyth and Stokes County. Court records show Coe's expected release date was November 1989.

\The Horry County police report says Coe was arrested Sunday for stealing jewelry from a flea market. 

The report states Coe met with another vendor who purchased the stolen item, which was later recovered, reports WPDE-TV. 

Coe was denied bond Monday and will be extradited to North Carolina.

Earlier this year, another long-time fugitive was captured in Florida. Frank Freshwaters had been on the run for 56 years, reported USA Today.

Ohio authorities said Freshwaters, then 21 and married, struck and killed 24-year-old Eugene Flynt with his vehicle on July 3, 1957, in Akron. Documents released by Elliot's office show that Freshwaters was traveling more than 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Freshwaters, a painter by profession, was indicted on second-degree manslaughter charges. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was given five years of probation with a suspended sentence of one to 20 years, records show. In Feb. 1959, Freshwaters was charged with violating his probation and sent to the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. Later, authorities said, he charmed prison officials, gaining their trust as a model inmate.

He was sent to the Sandusky Honor Farm, where he escaped on Sept. 30,1959.

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