Kailey Tracy
Reporter
Wilmington, NC
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Kailey Tracy joined WECT as a multimedia journalist in July 2017 after graduating from Elon University. There, she studied broadcast journalism and public health. Kailey reported for Elon’s student-run news channel, Elon Local News, where her love of storytelling took off.
During college, she interned for WECT, WRDE News in Delaware and for 60 Minutes.
Kailey is extremely excited to report the stories that matter to Wilmington. A Maryland native, and avid foodie, you can find Kailey relaxing on the beach or on a run.
If you have any story ideas, email Kailey at ktracy@wect.com, or reach out to her on Facebook and Twitter.
Education
Affiliations
Updated: Jul. 4, 2019 at 11:55 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Thousands of people will head to downtown Wilmington Thursday night to watch fireworks along the Cape Fear River. Crews with Pyro Shows have been working since Tuesday on a barge to put together the show.
Updated: Jul. 3, 2019 at 7:26 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Chaplains reach out to deputies involved in serious incidents like officer involved shootings.
Updated: Jul. 1, 2019 at 9:04 PM EDT
|By Clint Bullock and Kailey Tracy
The two suspects accused of killing a Brunswick County man and woman in Winnabow over the weekend made their first court appearances Monday afternoon.
Updated: Jun. 30, 2019 at 10:09 PM EDT
|By Gabrielle Williams and Kailey Tracy
Detectives with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men Sunday night in connection to a double homicide in Winnabow late Saturday night.
Updated: Jun. 30, 2019 at 8:32 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A Rocky Point man is dead after he was in a single car accident on U.S. 117 heading towards Burgaw Saturday afternoon.
Updated: Jun. 30, 2019 at 7:47 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A family is taking home a big treasure after beach day Saturday. Harvey Wall found a megalodon shark tooth in the water near the Shallotte Inlet.
Updated: Jun. 29, 2019 at 11:47 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Two men were shot in Wilmington Saturday afternoon, according to a spokesperson with the Wilmington Police Department.
Updated: Jun. 27, 2019 at 3:31 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Julia Olson-Boseman said a treatment facility is just as necessary for women as it is for men.
Updated: Jun. 25, 2019 at 12:55 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Tuesday evening the Wilmington Fire Department unveiled a bronzed fire helmet and boots in honor of Captain Eric Lacewell. Lacewell fell while on duty in 2011 and was paralyzed from the shoulders down. He died from complications from those injuries in 2014.
Updated: Jun. 24, 2019 at 6:44 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
The family of a 20-year-old shot and killed on South 11th Street Wednesday wants changes in the area, like more outlets for young people to keep kids off the streets.
Updated: Jun. 18, 2019 at 6:31 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Price’s friend of 15 years, Kevin Singletary, saw him hours before he died.
Updated: Jun. 17, 2019 at 6:35 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
According to Julie Johnson, the husbandry curator at the aquarium at Fort Fisher, there isn’t a specific reason for the number of bites this month but she said it is more common to see sharks closer to the shore during the summer.
Wilmington police try to reunite stolen items with rightful owners after series of weekend break-ins
Updated: Jun. 17, 2019 at 6:50 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Wilmington police are trying to reunite stolen items to their rightful owners after a series of thefts over the weekend.
Updated: Jun. 12, 2019 at 2:42 PM EDT
|By Jim Gentry and Kailey Tracy
Carolina Beach Town Manager Lucky Narain was fired during Tuesday night’s town council meeting.
Updated: Jun. 11, 2019 at 12:40 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Nineteen-year-old Austin Reed is recovering Tuesday from surgery on his foot after he says he was bitten by a shark Monday off Ocean Isle Beach.
Updated: Jun. 10, 2019 at 3:23 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Tahtah Edwards and her three sons have a house to call home nine months after Hurricane Florence destroyed their home. Edwards and her sons lived in a 325 square foot hotel room for four months before moving into a home in Fayetteville Sunday.
Updated: Jun. 5, 2019 at 6:46 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
More officers died by suicide than in the line of duty in the United States for the third straight year in 2018, according to the nonprofit Blue H.E.L.P, run by active and retired officers.
Updated: Jun. 4, 2019 at 3:23 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A school bus driver picked up a preschooler Tuesday morning, but the 3-year-old didn’t make it to Johnson Pre-K Center on time.
Updated: Jun. 4, 2019 at 12:45 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Lawmakers responded Tuesday to findings from researchers at Duke University that coal ash spilled several times into a lake, and has gone unnoticed. The researchers said this most recently occurred after Hurricane Florence.
Updated: Jun. 3, 2019 at 11:16 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
John Norwood, owner of window tinting company Carolina Solar Security, has fixed several problems in the Cape Fear region.
Updated: May. 29, 2019 at 7:49 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Wednesday the Cape Fear hit 101 degrees, crushing a previous record for the fourth day out of the last six.
Updated: May. 29, 2019 at 3:54 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
It’s important to check on neighbors, the elderly and those in need during the record-breaking heat the Cape Fear has been experiencing. It’s also important to keep your four-legged friends in mind.
Updated: May. 22, 2019 at 5:08 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Teachers often provide their students with life lessons. Friday, though, one teacher didn’t give his student a lesson. He saved his life.
Updated: May. 21, 2019 at 7:41 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Representatives with New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Trauma Services Department hosted a Stop the Bleed training event at Laney High School Tuesday afternoon.
Updated: May. 21, 2019 at 2:07 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A few months after a shop supporting local animals closed its doors, employees are continuing its mission.
Updated: May. 14, 2019 at 6:50 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Chandler Worley is a sixth generation farmer in Cerro Gordo. He sells soybeans and corn to China, and said his prices have been slashed in half.
Updated: May. 14, 2019 at 11:20 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Officers in Whiteville will now have to reimburse the city for the amount the city has spent on training and uniforms for them if they don’t stay for two years.
Updated: May. 13, 2019 at 5:52 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Prom nights are special for many students, and memories are often saved in pictures they’ll look at years later.One senior at Ashley High School has those pictures to remember the night, but his own memories may serve him even better.
Updated: May. 11, 2019 at 5:42 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an early morning homicide in East Arcadia, according to the Columbus County News Reporter.
Updated: May. 8, 2019 at 5:08 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A third bridge across the Cape Fear River is in the works. Several people and businesses are worried the project, Cape Fear Crossing, will negatively affect them.
Updated: May. 7, 2019 at 4:50 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A proposal to allow chickens in all residential areas is ruffling some feathers in Boiling Spring Lakes.
Updated: May. 6, 2019 at 10:55 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Several residents voiced their frustrations with the recovery process, and many said they haven’t been able to return home eight months after the storm.
Updated: May. 6, 2019 at 6:34 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a robbery Saturday night at the Kicking Mule Beverage Barn in Leland.
Updated: May. 1, 2019 at 10:30 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Teachers across the state said they didn’t see enough changes after last year’s rally in Raleigh, so they decided to march again.
Updated: May. 1, 2019 at 6:13 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Thousands of teachers, including hundreds from the Cape Fear region, will head to Raleigh on Wednesday for a teachers rally.
Updated: Apr. 29, 2019 at 4:09 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Dr. Karen Harum and UNCW graduate students studied more than 600 patients during a 10-year span.
Updated: Apr. 29, 2019 at 5:39 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A 17-year-old girl from Clayton suffered serious injuries after she was hit by a vehicle on South College Road early Sunday morning, according to the Wilmington Police Department.
Updated: Apr. 29, 2019 at 5:38 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Crews responded to a woods fire near Maco Road and Patrick Drive in Leland Sunday evening.
Updated: Apr. 28, 2019 at 11:45 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
The Seahawks ended their three-game winning streak Sunday with a 10 to three loss to College of Charleston.
Updated: Apr. 26, 2019 at 11:27 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Treat people how you want to be treated. It’s an age-old phrase that high-schooler Evensen Ross has built his life around.
Updated: Apr. 23, 2019 at 6:49 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Howard Penton of Penton Development wants to rezone the property on Hooker Road in Wilmington.
Updated: Apr. 22, 2019 at 6:21 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Two elementary schools in New Hanover County are opening months ahead of time to accommodate students.
Updated: Apr. 22, 2019 at 5:25 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Two to three feet of water flooded G & G Healthcare on South Madison Street in downtown Whiteville following the hurricane.
Updated: Apr. 22, 2019 at 6:24 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
The Pender County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man in connection to a double homicide Sunday.
Updated: Apr. 22, 2019 at 6:12 AM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A third shooting in Wilmington in two days happened Sunday afternoon, according to the Wilmington Police Department.
Updated: Apr. 20, 2019 at 2:43 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Two men were injured in a shooting Saturday morning in Wilmington, according to a spokesperson with the Wilmington Police Department.
Updated: Apr. 17, 2019 at 2:20 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
A middle-schooler on spring break is bringing home some pretty big treasures. Avery Fauth found a megalodon shark tooth on the beach in North Topsail Monday.
Updated: Apr. 16, 2019 at 3:13 PM EDT
|By Emily Featherston and Kailey Tracy
On Tuesday, the Wilmington City Council will consider a rezoning request to change the classification of 5335 and 5429 Oleander Drive from community business to office and institutional, with conditions.
Updated: Apr. 15, 2019 at 6:19 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
Drivers from New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties drove through five obstacles in the Bus Roadeo at Murray Middle School.
Updated: Apr. 15, 2019 at 4:11 PM EDT
|By Kailey Tracy
The deadline to file for 2018 tax returns is looming, and for those who waited until the last minute, midnight is cutoff time.
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