Authorities seek SUV for leads on Shatley

JEFFERSON—Authorities are looking for a white Ford Explorer and the person driving it close to when and where Timothy Dwayne Shatley was murdered last month after leaving his North Wilkesboro restaurant job. Shatley has numerous ties to Alleghany County, including the fact that his parents still live here.

An Ashe County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the driver of the Ford Explorer is being sought as a potential witness who may have information on the murder. The driver isn’t necessarily considered a suspect in the murder, the spokesman said.

The Explorer’s model hasn’t been determined, but authorities believe it has a rack on top.

Emergency medical personnel found Shatley, 30, dead in the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Astro van shortly after 11:30 p.m. Nov. 19 on N.C. 16 in the Grassy Creek community of northeastern Ashe County. Shatley was near his home in Grassy Creek.

Authorities believe Shatley was driving north on N.C. 16 when he apparently slowed or stopped and was shot while still in the van near the intersection of N.C. 16 and Old Field Creek Road, just past where a new bridge is being constructed across the North Fork of the New River.

At least three shots were fired at Shatley, including a fatal shot that passed through his upper torso. Authorities believe he drove the van about 250 feet before it hit a concrete barrier and stopped where he was found.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back