*Man, 20, attempts to escape arrest by jumping into the ocean in North Carolina
*Zachary Kingsbury was discovered with suspicious contraband in his vehicle
*Instead of succumbing to arrest, he jumped into the Atlantic ocean
*After swimming more than a mile off shore, police were forced to track Kingsbury with a drone
*Footage from the chase shows a shark trailing just 25 feet off to the side
*Kingsbury was later charged with a resisting arrest, obstructing an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia

A North Carolina man unknowingly jumped into shark infested waters as he tried to escape arrest.

Surf City police officials say 20-year-old Zachary Kingsbury was pulled over just before 5pm on Wednesday, according to WECT.

Upon conducting a search in the vehicle, police officers discovered suspicious contraband on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Kingsbury, who was in the driver’s seat, was then asked to step out of his vehicle, at which point he ‘fled the scene on foot, onto the beach’, and proceeded into the ocean, police documents show.

After swimming more than a mile away from shore, however, authorities said the arrest turned into a ‘rescue operation’ and launched a drone to track the escapee.

As the unmanned aerial vehicle flew over Kingsbury, footage shows a shark some 25 feet away trailing the police dodger. It remains unclear if Kingsbury was aware of the animal.

Authorities were finally able to nab Kingsbury around 7.45pm at the Wicker Avenue beach access in North Topsail Beach, nearly three hours after the ordeal had begun.

Kingsbury was placed under arrest and is being held at Pender County Jail.

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