On Feb. 5, a neighborhood of duplexes in a wooded corner of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was jarred awake before sunrise by the sound of bangs and bullhorns.
In the predawn gloom, dozens of federal agents and sheriff’s officers swarmed the area and entered two homes, according to news reports and residents.
“I looked out my window and I saw dudes in paramilitary gear, I saw several trucks, several vehicles, and I could tell that something serious was going on,” said Paul Lascara, who lives next door to one of the homes that was raided.
Two people linked to the Northeast Kingdom shooting that resulted in the death of a U.S. border patrol officer had previously stayed in that residential area, according to neighbors and media reports.
Those individuals, named in court documents as Felix Bauckholt and Teresa Youngblut, were stopped on Jan. 20 by agent David Maland in Coventry, while driving a blue 2015 Prius with North Carolina plates. According to media reports and acquaintances, Bauckholt, a German national, was transgender and used the name Ophelia.
In court documents, federal prosecutors have alleged that Youngblut “drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol Agents without warning” during the traffic stop.
Youngblut fired a handgun at least twice from the driver’s side of the vehicle, according to court documents, while Bauckholt “attempted to draw” a handgun. The court documents go on to say that “one or more Border Patrol Agents” returned fire with “at least” seven shots.
In the shootout, Maland suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the neck and Bauckholt was fatally shot in the chest, according to death certificates provided by the Vermont Department of Health. Youngblut was arrested and is in custody.
According to reporting from the Associated Press and local news outlet WRAL, both Youngblut and Bauckholt had rented units via Airbnb in two duplexes in a Chapel Hill neighborhood in the past two years. The units’ landlord told the AP that Bauckholt had begun renting a unit starting in July 2023, while Youngblut began renting a unit in November 2024 and paid to stay through the end of March.
Many of the units in the Chapel Hill neighborhood searched by the FBI are duplexes owned by a single landlord and rented via Airbnb, according to property records and Airbnb listings. The landlord declined to comment to VTDigger.
‘Kind of weird’
Lascara, who lives next door to one of the units searched by the FBI, said he did not interact much with his neighbors and was not exactly sure who was renting the units. But he recalled seeing two of them walking around the neighborhood dressed in black — “like, lots of black,” he said. “I think they both had trench coats.”
Shown a picture of Bauckholt, Lascara said he “definitely” recognized the individual. Although they never interacted, Lascara said, Bauckholt had a “socially awkward sense.”
Lascara said he was not sure who Bauckholt’s companion was. But that person, who Lascara described as a woman no more than 5-foot-8, with dark hair and a “roundish face,” once came to his door asking if he’d received a package.
The neighbor had ordered a smartwatch that had not arrived, Lascara said. Their interaction — in which the neighbor had pointed out that Lascara was wearing a watch of the same kind that they had ordered — was brief and “kind of weird,” he said.
Another neighbor, who asked to speak anonymously for fear of their safety, told VTDigger they recognized Bauckholt and Youngblut from news reports. The neighbor had seen the two walking around the area, “all in black, black trench coats,” they said.
The pair generally kept to themselves, according to the neighbor, who said they also saw other people staying with them as well, as well as multiple other vehicles — including a box truck that was parked in a cul-de-sac for an extended period of time.
At one point, the neighbor said they saw Bauckholt, Youngblut and “two adults, all in black, coming back from the store.” One of those two strangers was very tall with dark hair, the neighbor said.
The identities of those other people are unclear. But Youngblut and Bauckholt have ties to multiple other individuals, some of whom are linked to killings in California and Pennsylvania.
A photo of an empty Amazon package from the property, obtained by VTDigger, lists the name “Felix Bauckholt” and another Chapel Hill address. That address is for a Staples store roughly 20 minutes away.
An employee of that Staples told VTDigger that the store offers a service called “iPostal1,” through which members of the public can receive and pick up mail. The employee, who did not provide a name, declined to answer questions about Youngblut and Bauckholt.
Last week, the FBI spent hours searching two residences in the Chapel Hill neighborhood, according to neighbors and media reports. Lascara said he heard agents announce that they were in possession of search warrants.
Randall Rigsbee, a spokesperson for the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that sheriff’s officers were involved in the raid but directed a reporter to the FBI.
“We assisted the FBI, but it’s really their operation,” he said. “So I don’t have any additional details.”
Shelley Lynch, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Charlotte, North Carolina office, said only that the bureau had “conducted court authorized investigative activity in connection with an ongoing federal law enforcement investigation.”
It was not clear when Bauckholt and Youngblut left the properties, but by mid-January, they were in Vermont. According to court records, the pair was placed under surveillance by law enforcement on Jan. 14 in Lyndonville.
‘Not able to comment’
In Vermont, too, the FBI has been tight-lipped. The federal law enforcement agency, which is leading the investigation into the Jan. 20 incident, has yet to release key details about the shootout that left two dead.
Among the lingering questions: who fired the shot that proved fatal to Maland — Youngblut, or another border patrol agent?
According to charging documents in the only criminal case filed stemming from the shootout, Youngblut fired two shots and “at least one” border patrol agent returned fire.
Youngblut faces federal firearms offenses, but has not been charged directly with firing the shot that killed Maland. According to court filings, “Multiple uniformed Border Patrol Agents were present at the stop in three USBP (U.S. Border Patrol) vehicles with emergency lights illuminated.”
On Jan. 22, two days after the incident, Sarah Ruane, an FBI spokesperson, declined to respond to specific questions about the investigation.
“At this time, there are no additional details available for release,” she wrote. “FBI investigations are thorough and meticulous, and our updates take time. We will continue to work with all parties involved to determine if/when more information can be released but appreciate your patience.”
Ruane again declined to answer similar questions Thursday, writing, “In accordance with a longstanding DOJ (Department of Justice) policy, I’m not able to comment on an open investigation.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Weeks after shooting of border patrol agent, FBI searched connected residences in North Carolina.