FEBRUARY 27–MARCH 5, 2025
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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Case of pair of Beaufort runaways raises questions Parents of 12-yearold girl unhappy with police handling By Delayna Earley The Island News On Saturday, Feb. 15, 12-year-old Emily Hollis went missing from her home in Beaufort, S.C. She was last seen in the company of 16-year-old Chase Eskeets and both children were reported by the Beaufort Police Department as runaways.
Since then, both children were found and returned to their homes unharmed several days later, but the situation has sparked a much bigger conversation over social media — can a 12-year-old consent to run away from home or is it an abduction? Shortly after the police publicly shared that Hollis and Eskeets were reported as runaways, Hollis’ parents took to Facebook in a live video in hopes of putting additional pressure on the police to help them find their daughter. In the video, the Hollis’ tearfully
plea for the public to help because they were told that the police do not assign an investigator to look for runaways. “My daughter is 12 years old,” Autumn Hollis, Emily’s mother said in the video. “She needs to have people looking for her, police officers, too — here in Beaufort — not just the people.” In a second video, Emily’s father took to social media and shared that in a meeting with Beaufort Police Chief Stephanie Price, she questioned why he was not in Florida looking for his daughter, which
was the last location she had been spotted. According to the video, Price allegedly went around the room and asked every person in there if they would have gone to Florida to look for their child and had them respond. Her father said that he was advised by the Jacksonville Police to not come down and to stay in Beaufort. Again, he pleaded with the Beaufort Police to issue an AMBER alert
Screenshot of the parents of 12-year-old Emily Hollis. Photo SEE MISSING PAGE A5 from Autumn Hollis’ Facebook
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
‘Breakfast in Beaufort’ makes its debut
Beaufort International Film Festival founders Ron and Rebecca Tucker take the podium during the BIFF’s Awards Presentation on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
T
BEAUFORT he curtain has closed on the 19th annual Beaufort International Film Festival, which according to those who attended, was another success. While “Where Were You,” a California-based feature film love story may have been selected as the audience favorite for the fourday showing, the local crowd-pleaser was bound to be “Breakfast in Beaufort: Journeys Through Life,” a 29-minute documentary featuring 11 Beaufortonians who shared their observations and wisdom with the camera. The film, which features the group of men who gather weekly for breakfast at Blackstone’s restaurant, packed the USCB Center for the Arts theatre Saturday morning and left those who attended with the instructions: love your
It’s a wrap!
Curtain closes on 19th annual Beaufort International Film Festival Staff reports The 19th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival wrapped on Sunday night in Beaufort with winners named in 17 categories. Filmmakers, film lovers and hundreds of first time BIFFers took in the six days of film screenings that included eight world premieres and 46 South Carolina premieres with an average attendance of 300 people
per screening. “We were honored to have so many filmmakers from around the world in our tiny but beautiful sea island city to showcase their work,” Beaufort Film Society President Ron Tucker said. The Winners Legends & Legacies Award: Tim Gray, World War II Foundation,
South Kingstown, R.I. Behind the Scenes Award: Lee Donaldson, Charleston Best Screenplay: “Poster Girls,” Written by Christina Capra, Charlotte, N.C. Best Animation: “Gleam,” Directed by Anna Palmtag, Cary, N.C. Best Student Film: “Two Breaths,”
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A4
SEE WRAP PAGE A2
NEWS
HEALTH
VOICES
INSIDE
OLT sells Coosaw Island tract for inclusion in Cultural Heritage Preserve.
Beaufort Memorial begins work on ER mental health crisis stabilization unit.
Andy Brack: “This is no way to run a country.”
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