Dawn broke with dread in this usually sleepy district on Tuesday when armed men seized veteran auto dealer Gavin Myers outside his Darliston car mart and sped off with him at gun-point.
Police investigators say Myers, a fixture in the local motor-sales scene for more than six years, had arrived to meet a prospective client after receiving an early-morning call. Around 6:30 am, while an employee unlatched the gate, Myers paused beside his grey Audi on the main roadside. Three men in a waiting vehicle pounced, shoved him inside, and fired a single round skyward before racing away.
The brazen grab has rattled residents accustomed to low-key rural life. Many declined to go on record when visited by reporters, confessing uncertainty over whether criminals or rogue officers were behind the operation. One stunned shopkeeper could only mutter, “We’re praying he turns up safe.”
Myers, known for sponsoring youth football matches and back-to-school drives, is widely regarded as a pillar of the community. “This sort of thing doesn’t happen here,” a longtime acquaintance said, shaking his head. “It feels like the ground moved under us.”
A multi-division police dragnet was launched within hours, and investigators urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stop at 311 or the nearest station. By press time, neither Myers nor his abductors had been located.
As Darliston waits—and worries—residents are pinning their hopes on a swift rescue and a return to the quiet normalcy they once took for granted.
