Investigators eye cell phone data in 'bizarre' case of man killed while driving in Sampson Co.

Investigators are trying to figure out who shot a man on a Sampson County highway while he was driving.

2024-08-29

Robert Foss, 39, crashed his SUV after he was shot and then hours went by before authorities found him dead on Aug. 25.

A closer look into the investigation shows why cell phone data will be key in solving this case.

Footage from the scene shows the white SUV that Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton says Robert Foss was driving when he was shot. Thornton said Foss then drove off the side of Highway 13 and crashed. He was later found dead inside the car.

“This really is a bizarre incident to be quite honest with you,” Thornton said.

Thornton said this case is bizarre because of where this happened and who Foss is.

Thornton said he doesn’t have a record that flagged anything. He also said Foss is from Kinston but was working and living in Fayetteville. Meanwhile, the crime scene sits right near the Cumberland-Sampson County line.

“It’s just going to be one of those slow methodical type situations where you just got to take one little piece here and there and see if you can put it all together,” Thornton said.

Investigators collected as much evidence as they could from the scene. The sheriff said the data from Foss’ cell phone just might be the key to solving this case.

“We do have some data that would corroborate different locations that he traveled because we have cameras and stuff that picked up on all of that,” Thornton said.