Man confronts, kills person mistaken as boat thief, deputies say

David Wayne Gore, 57, was arrested and charged with murder after shooting Allen W. Blanchard, 34, at an abandoned lumber mill Dec. 25, according to the Star News.

Gore was trying to track the thief who stole a $200,000 boat from his business Dec. 18. Gore believed the thief took the boat to the mill because it had large enough buildings to hide it.

Gore found Blanchard and Ryan Ciro Thau, 33, at the mill and confronted them, according to the Bladen County Sheriff's Office. Gore shot Blanchard, but Thau was not injured, according to the Star News.

There is no connection between Gore, Blanchard, Thau and the missing boat, Bladen County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Larry Guyton said.