Robert Newman Baty Jr.
Emergencies significant enough to trigger a “Code Red” alert for Highlands residents are incredibly uncommon.
Two “Code Red” alerts in the same day is unheard of.
But that is exactly what happened on Thursday when residents received two alert messages in less than 12 hours.
The first alert, just before noon, was in response to a threat posted online. According to mayor Patrick Taylor, a resident of the Scaly Mountain community allegedly made a threat regarding a possible school shooting in Rabun County, Georgia.
“Our Macon County Sheriff and our Highlands Police Chief are top-notch professionals and out of an abundance of caution they decided to put Highlands School and Franklin area schools on a perimeter lockdown,” Taylor said. “There was no direct threat towards a school in Macon County, but given where the threat originated they were absolutely going to respond with extreme caution. As they should, because the last thing anyone wants is not to respond and then have a tragedy happen.”
The second “Code Red” message was issued just before 8 p.m. when Highlands police officers were called to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Upper Lake Road. The driver of the vehicle, Robert Newman Baty Jr., had an outstanding warrant from Jackson County, and when an officer approached the vehicle Baty Jr. sped off.
According to information from HPD chief Andrea Holland, a brief chase ensued on Horse Cove Road.
Officers attempted to stop Baty as he traveled down Horse Cove Road, but he escaped when one Highlands Police vehicle slid off the road to the right, damaging the patrol vehicle. According to Holland, the officer and K-9 were not injured. The damages to the car were minor and mostly cosmetic. However, the accident did remove the vehicle and associated officers from service while the patrol vehicle was recovered and the officer was evaluated.
Later investigation of the event found that Baty had been holding a female passenger in the vehicle against her will while fleeing from officers. In a statement from the victim, Baty refused to stop the car, even after repeated requests for him to stop and let her out.
The vehicle was later found abandoned at a property on Upper Lake Road.
Baty Jr. has been charged with felony offenses including speeding to elude, and kidnapping as well as a misdemeanor charge of assault with a deadly weapon (against the officer). Anyone with information on Robert Baty Jr. or his whereabouts is asked to contact the Highlands Police Department at 828-526-9431. Holland thanked the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, the NC Highway Patrol and On-Site Towing of Cashiers, for their assistance.
Taylor noted that while “Code Red” messages are rare in Highlands, Thursday proved exactly why the system is necessary.
“We take some grief whenever we do a Code Red that there aren’t enough updates, or the updates aren’t fast enough,” Taylor said. “But when our police officers and emergency personnel are in the middle of a serious situation, they are focused on what they are doing, not sending out message after message about what is happening that very minute.”