LINCOLNTON, N.C. - Around 10 p.m. on November 29, 2022 deputies responded to a possible burglary to a camper parked on the property in the 1300 block of Bess Chapel Church Road, Cherryville. Deputies met with the reporting party and were told that a male was in the trailer after being told he could not be there by the owner. Deputies knocked on the door of the camper but the male inside stated he would not come out.

Deputies learned there was an active warrant out of Union County for the man identified as Chris Carl Lee, 39, of Crouse. He continued to refuse to exit the camper. Officers then went to the magistrate's office in Lincolnton to secure a search warrant for the Jayco camper in order to make entry and contact with the individual. While enroute back to the scene, deputies learned that the camper had caught fire.

The officers attempted to enter the camper but the man had barricaded himself inside preventing officers from gaining entry. When firefighters arrived on the scene they were able to make entry and pull the man from the camper. He had burns on his body and was transported by EMS to Atrium Health-Lincoln then airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem.