Iredell County sheriff’s deputies are investigating an alleged break-in and theft at the North Carolina home of retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, who died along with six others in a plane crash last month. The alleged burglary at Biffle’s Mooresville home was reported Jan. 8, according to an incident report from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Darren Campbell said Wednesday that investigators believe someone entered a safe in the home.
Biffle died Dec. 18 when a business jet he was aboard crashed while attempting to return to Statesville Airport, leaving the home unoccupied. No arrests have been made in the burglary investigation, which Campbell said includes digital-evidence analysis and witness interviews.
What was taken
The incident report identified $30,000 in cash and a backpack as stolen. Campbell said guns and memorabilia were also among items taken.
The home was last known secure the afternoon of Jan. 7, according to the incident report. No one else was present at the time of the alleged crimes.
“We’re working the case. We are waiting on some digital evidence,” Campbell said, adding that interviews were also being conducted.
The Dec. 18 crash
The business jet was carrying Biffle, his wife and two children, and three other passengers when it crashed Dec. 18 while trying to return to Statesville Airport, located about 45 miles north of Charlotte. Federal investigators said the Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground short of the runway. All seven people aboard died.
No cause of the crash has been released. Biffle was one of three people on board with a pilot’s license. Investigators said during the crash’s immediate aftermath that they did not know who was the lead pilot on the flight.
Biffle won 19 NASCAR Cup Series races over his career. A public memorial service for him and the six others killed is scheduled for Friday morning at a Charlotte arena.