VSP Trooper Finds Missing North Carolina Woman in Washington County After BOLO Alert | WJHL

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) — An 18-year-old at the center of an Ashanti alert from North Carolina was found safe by a Virginia State Police (VSP) trooper in the Washington County, Va., Thursday.

The Fayetteville Police Department reports an Ashanti Alert was issued after Tierstan Cochran, 18, was kidnapped in the 100 block of Birchwood Way early Thursday morning.

Cochran was allegedly forced into a vehicle by people she previously knew.

A VSP trooper was on patrol in Washington County when he received a “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) alert for a gray Dodge Hornet wanted by Fayetteville police in connection with the kidnapping of Tierstan Cochran, a declared VSP.

The VSP Trooper conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle at a gas station near Exit 7 in Bristol, Virginia.

Cochran was found safe in the vehicle, authorities reported. Four other people inside the vehicle were arrested.

Additional charges are forthcoming, the Fayetteville Police Department said.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and VSP assisted in the investigation.