U.S. Marshals have joined the search near Weldon, looking for a squatter who killed a dentist in a cabin and injured two SWAT deputies in a shootout.

Sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt says up to 150 people are looking for the fugitive in a five-mile area.

“It’s the largest search operation I can recall – certainly, the largest that I can remember in 10 years,” Pruitt said.

KUZZ-AM/FM personality Kerri Wagner lives in Twin Oaks and said her neighbors are on edge after three people were held at gunpoint there last week.

“We don’t really address this kind of an issue very often, and our homes are so far apart that it does present a little bit of a vulnerability,” Wagner said.

Pruitt said the search party will focus on the area until the man is captured.

– Anthony Pollreisz