Body found near I-77 in Blythewood identified

The Richland County Coroner’s Office has identified the body that was located near I-77 in Blythewood on Sunday.

Coroner Gary Watts said 51-year-old Stanaland  Dixon, of Blythewood, was positively identified through dental records. Dixon was reported missing to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department on June 28.

Sheriff Leon Lott said Dixon was reported missing after he and a friend were riding off-road in a pick-up truck near power lines deep in a wooded area. When the truck became stuck in mud, Dixon decided to walk to Blythewood to seek assistance, but he wasn’t heard or seen since.

Lott said investigators searched the wooded area where Dixon was last seen and eventually located his decomposed body in the woods.

Watts said at this time it appears that Dixon died from natural causes after an autopsy performed Tuesday revealed no signs of trauma. A final toxicology report on the body will not be ready for several weeks.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Body found near I-77 in Blythewood identified."