Body found in Richland County lake where searchers looked for missing SC boater
A body was discovered Tuesday in a Richland County lake where investigators have been searching for a missing college student since Christmas.
At about 4:35 p.m., the body of a Black male was recovered from Columbia’s Lake Carolina, the Richland County Coroner’s Office said in a news release.
Coroner Naida Rutherford did not say if the body found in Lake Carolina was Theron Wallace, the 20-year-old college student who has been missing since going out for an early morning kayak ride on Dec. 25.
“Details are limited at this time, however, a full autopsy with positive identification will be conducted in the morning with our forensic pathologist and anthropology team,” Rutherford said in a news release. “We never want to give false hope or give a family wrong information, so we will positively identify this individual before sharing any other details.”
Rutherford said she has spoken with Wallace’s family, “and they are aware of this discovery.”
Wallace attended the University of South Carolina Aiken. He had returned to his parents’ home on the lake during winter break, said David Lucas with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
A search for Wallace began at about noon on Dec. 25, and has included dive teams, boaters and a flight team that investigated the lake from above, Lucas said. The Department of Natural Resources teams discovered a kayak and paddle on the first day of the search, according to Lucas.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office Forensic K-9 unit assisted the Department of Natural Resources with the recovery.
“Upon proper notification being made, we will release more detailed information,” Rutherford said.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 7:43 PM.
