A suspect fleeing from a Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office deputy led to a brief lockdown of the University of North Georgia Dahlonega campus on Saturday, Jan. 25.

The suspect was believed to be armed.

At about 5:45 p.m., UNG Public Safety locked the campus down while officers pursued the suspect, who fled during a traffic stop, according to UNG spokeswoman Sylvia Carson.

The suspect was not affiliated with UNG, Carson said, and the lockdown was lifted by 6 p.m. after the person had been apprehended by law enforcement.

According to a Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office report, Seth Stephen Thompson, 32, was riding as a passenger inside the car that was pulled over.

Thompson allegedly ran from the traffic stop.

After a search with a tracking dog, an officer told Thompson to “come out of the culvert with his hands up.

“I then observed a male pop out of the manhole cover and begin fleeing north away from us,” according to the report.

Officers later found Thompson at the Bellamy Apartments in Dahlonega.

“(Thompson) was apparently fleeing from law enforcement because of outstanding warrants being out on him,” according to the report.

Thompson was charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer. He also has holds in Forsyth and Hall counties.



