WINTON – Three suspects involved in a manhunt on Thursday have been captured.

Hertford County Sheriff Juan Vaughan said Javonta Gray and Torino Nixon, both age 17 and both of Virginia, were nabbed in Winton after they, along with a third suspect, allegedly stole and wrecked two vehicles.

The third suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was spotted shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday attempting to escape on a raft on the Chowan River. He was quickly apprehended near Tuscarora Beach and was transported to Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie.

“Please take note that the two names I released, Mr. Gray and Mr. Nixon, are the names they gave; we did not find any identification on their person,” said Vaughan.

Early reports showed that the three men apparently stole a vehicle in Virginia on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, and were later involved in a wreck in Hertford County on Thomas Bridge Road. Vaughan said the trio then stole another vehicle from a residence on Thomas Bridge Road and later wrecked that in a ravine at the end of King Street in Winton. The latter incident prompted a manhunt that included HCSO officers along with members of the Ahoskie and Murfreesboro Police Departments, Gates County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina Highway Patrol, Hertford County Emergency Management, NC Wildlife Commission, Winton Fire Department, North Carolina Dept. of Community Corrections, and bloodhounds from the North Carolina Division of Prisons.

The search was basically confined to the area at and near the old aluminum plant in Winton.