5 people break into historic Outer Banks lighthouse to pull off odd crime, NPS says

A clandestine plan to break into the historic Cape Lookout Lighthouse on the Outer Banks was interrupted around 12 a.m. Monday by the National Park Service.

Five suspects “in their late teens or early twenties” used the cover of darkness to reach the island by boat, crept up to the lighthouse door, then used tools to remove the hardware, Cape Lookout National Seashore officials said.

They succeeded in getting inside, but their intent proved to be both surprising and strange.

“Seems they were looking to break in for the view,” Cape Lookout Public Information Officer B.G. Horvat told McClatchy News. “Yes, they did make it to the top.”

The five suspects “admitted their guilt” and were issued citations rather than being arrested, he said in an email. Nothing was damaged or taken during the break-in, Horvat said. Their names were not released.

“The rangers investigating found that the 8-10 people involved were all from Carteret County and the 5 individuals that actually broke in were all from Down East communities,” the park said in a release.

It was not explained why the group was so desperate to get to the top of the 161-year-old lighthouse in the middle of the night. But they apparently tried to get in late Sunday, too, and “were chased away” around 10 p.m., park officials said in a release.

The 163-foot-high tower is closed for the season, with only park staff and the U.S. Coast Guard visiting on occasion for maintenance checks, the park said in a release. Cape Lookout National Seashore is on the southern stretch of the Outer Banks, with Cape Hatteras National Seashore just to the north.

This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 4:58 PM with the headline "5 people break into historic Outer Banks lighthouse to pull off odd crime, NPS says."