Four Women Rescued From Alleged Abduction Network Hidden in Pine Hollow Mountains

PINE HOLLOW, N.C. — For two years, the disappearance of four college roommates from a summer camping trip in the Pine Hollow Mountains was treated as a tragic but straightforward wilderness case. Authorities told their families the young women likely became lost and perished in the remote terrain.

That account collapsed earlier this year when hikers located the women’s white SUV behind an abandoned house off Birch Creek Road — an area never searched during the original investigation. The vehicle’s discovery triggered a chain of events that exposed what investigators now describe as a “for-profit human hunting and exploitation network” operating in the region.

The women — Sarah Cross, Jessica [last name withheld], Claire [last name withheld], and Megan [last name withheld] — were recovered alive during a multi-agency operation in late March. A former Pine Hollow police officer, a military veteran, and federal agents linked the case to a group of suspects, including the county sheriff, accused of abducting victims and selling access to them for entertainment to wealthy clients.

A Sudden Break in a Cold Case

The turning point came when former Pine Hollow Police officer Tommy Brennan contacted Sarah Cross’s brother, Marcus, in early March. Brennan, who left the force years earlier, said hikers had found Sarah’s SUV in a clearing behind a house with a green roof.

Brennan told Marcus Cross that fresh clothing was hanging on a line and food was inside the building — indications the house was in recent use. He also alleged that Sheriff Frank Mitchell had previously ordered certain logging roads, including Birch Creek Road, excluded from search operations in 2022.

Cross, a U.S. Army veteran recently returned from deployment, drove to the site. Inside, he found camping gear matching the women’s, chained cots, and a note apparently written by one of the captives: “They made us read their messages… we smiled, we lied.”

Behind a concealed wall panel, Cross discovered a small holding space containing hair consistent with Sarah’s and a bracelet she had owned. While Cross was still inside, Sheriff Mitchell arrived at the property alone.

Allegations of Official Complicity

According to Cross’s later statement to investigators, Mitchell showed no surprise at the scene and implied knowledge of the captives’ whereabouts. The sheriff allegedly told Cross that his sister was alive but under guard at a “mountain facility” on Pine Ridge Road, and warned him to stop investigating.

A confrontation ensued in which Cross disarmed the sheriff and extracted details about the site. Mitchell allegedly described the operation as a lucrative enterprise catering to “clients” — some of them prominent — who paid for live-streamed, interactive control of captives, and in some cases for “hunting packages” in the surrounding mountains.

Cross left with Mitchell’s service weapon and radio. Minutes later, he overheard a transmission ordering all captives moved to a “disposal site” within two hours.

Mobilizing a Rescue

Cross contacted Brennan, who confirmed familiarity with the Pine Ridge site from his own unsolved case: his daughter Bethany had vanished in similar circumstances five years earlier. Brennan agreed to meet at an abandoned logging station and brought rifles, tactical gear, and maps of the facility.

The two men planned a diversion. Brennan would attack the main gate to draw security forces, while Cross used a steep service road to reach the building where the captives were allegedly held.

Radio traffic intercepted en route indicated that all four women were in “Building 7” at the Pine Ridge compound, guarded by armed personnel and awaiting the arrival of paying clients.

The Raid on Building 7

At nightfall, Brennan drove into the main entrance, firing at security posts. Cross infiltrated the compound from the rear. He reported neutralizing a guard outside Building 7 before entering and locating all four missing women in locked metal cages.

Sarah Cross and her three roommates appeared malnourished and physically weakened but were able to walk with assistance. Cross freed them and began moving toward the tree line. The group came under gunfire, but reached cover and continued toward a prearranged extraction point.

En route, Cross encountered and killed an unidentified armed man carrying a high-end hunting rifle and night-vision gear, whom authorities believe was a client participating in the “finale” event.

Extraction Under Fire

At the extraction site, Brennan arrived in a bullet-damaged truck, having sustained a leg wound. The women were loaded into the vehicle for transport out of the area.

Cross, however, stayed behind to slow pursuing vehicles and, he says, to “make sure no one followed.”

He positioned himself on a ridgeline above the only road out of the compound and engaged three approaching vehicles — two SUVs carrying armed contractors and an armored sedan transporting unidentified men believed to be clients. One SUV crashed down an embankment after its driver was shot; a second was disabled, forcing occupants to retreat.

During the firefight, Cross contacted a man identified over the radio as Kevin Reed, described as a local “handyman” long involved in search parties and maintenance work near trailheads. According to Cross, Reed admitted to managing logistics for the network and offered him evidence — including client lists, financial ledgers, and video files — stored in a safe at his workshop in exchange for being spared.

Cross ended the call and proceeded toward Reed’s location.

Arrests and Evidence Seizure

Within 48 hours, state police and FBI agents, acting on evidence from Cross and Brennan, executed coordinated warrants at multiple locations, including Reed’s workshop and the Birch Creek property. Authorities say they recovered hard drives, printed ledgers, and photographic documentation of victims.

Sheriff Mitchell, Reed, and several other individuals have been taken into federal custody. Charges include kidnapping, human trafficking, racketeering, and conspiracy. Federal prosecutors allege that the network operated across at least three states and catered to high-net-worth clients, some of whom paid for in-person participation in “manhunts” on the mountainous terrain.

Investigators have not publicly confirmed the identities of any clients, citing an ongoing probe.

Survivors in Care

The four women are now under medical supervision and receiving trauma counseling. In a brief statement through the FBI, Sarah Cross’s family thanked “the individuals and agencies whose actions saved these young women from further harm” and asked for privacy.

Authorities say additional search teams are examining remote burial sites described by Reed, which may contain remains of other victims, including Brennan’s daughter.

A Network Hidden in Plain Sight

The case has raised questions about why the Birch Creek and Pine Ridge sites were never searched in 2022. Federal agents are reviewing communications from the original investigation for signs of obstruction.

Law enforcement sources say the network’s use of official resources, local knowledge, and isolated properties made it difficult to detect. “They were operating under the cover of familiarity,” one federal official said. “Trusted faces in the community were the ones facilitating the crimes.”

The FBI has established a dedicated hotline for information on possible related cases, including disappearances in neighboring counties over the past decade.

Looking Ahead

Marcus Cross has not spoken publicly beyond initial interviews with investigators. Brennan, recovering from his injury, told reporters that the operation was “only the beginning” of exposing the full scope of the network.

“We got them out,” he said. “Now we go after everyone who paid to put them there.”

Federal prosecutors have indicated they will seek maximum penalties and may pursue additional charges if evidence from Reed’s files implicates further participants.

The Pine Hollow case has already prompted calls for external review of local law enforcement practices and oversight mechanisms for search-and-rescue operations in remote areas. State legislators have introduced a bill requiring independent supervision when elected officials are involved in missing persons cases.

For the Cross family, the priority remains recovery. “We thought she was gone,” a relative said. “Now she’s home, and that’s what matters.”