Coroner confirms body found in SC river was missing child, ruled accident

The child’s body found in the Saluda River was confirmed to be 12-year-old Ayden Chastain, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office announced Monday.

Searchers found the boy’s body Friday morning about 450 yards from where he was last seen Wednesday afternoon.

The child was pronounced dead at the river.

An autopsy performed on Friday found he died of drowning and was ruled an accident.

Rescuers searched for three days last week, hampered by rain, since the call came in to dispatchers around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Sheriff Hobart Lewis said the boy was playing with friends near the river when he fell in.

The missing boy’s mother Rissa Lewis told FOX Carolina last week, “I don’t understand how this happened. We’ve expressed to them over the weeks: do not play in that river.”

When the friends didn’t see him resurface, they ran to tell adults, who then called the police.

The area is a popular play area that includes a rope swing, slide and a ladder.

Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville County Emergency Response Team, Greenville County Divers, and multiple Anderson County agencies took part in the search.

This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 4:17 PM.