Police found his truck burning before finding his body in woods. Now, he’s identified
Investigators took a small step toward discovering what happened to a man whose body was found off a dirt road in Aiken county.
Authorities identified the dead man and testing is being done to determine what killed him.
The Aiken County Coroner’s office identified William M. Anderson of Wagener as the man that police found dead Friday around 9:30 p.m. Anderson was 37 years old.
Aiken County Sheriff’s Office investigators and agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division found Anderson in an area of woods a few miles off Interstate 20 between the towns of New Holland and Monetta. The wooded area where he was found bordered Daisy Street, an unpaved road in a rural section of the county known for farming.
“William is the son of Willa Mae Huges Anderson and the late Matthew N. Anderson, Jr. William is the brother of Christian Matthew ‘Matt’ Anderson and Christopher Henry “Chris” Anderson and his wife Shana of Windsor,” an obituary said. William was a member of Berlin Baptist Church in the town of Salley, which is about 9 miles from Wagener.
He died a day before authorities found his body, according to the obituary.
An autopsy was performed in Newberry but the cause of the death is pending toxicology results, according to the Aiken County Coroner’s office.
Toxicology testing is done when authorities want to know if victims had drugs or alcohol in their systems at the time of death.
Aiken deputies searched for Anderson on Thursday after his family told police he was missing, according to multiple reports. Anderson’s relatives last saw him around 7 p.m. when he was at his home on North Main Street in Wagener. His vehicle was found wrecked and burning near Goose Platter Road and Daisy Street, close to where his body would later be found.
An Aiken County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson wouldn’t elaborate on Anderson’s death or how he was found. An investigation into Anderson’s death is ongoing.
Wagener, where he lived, is about 14 miles from where his body was found.
A memorial service for Anderson will be held at Berlin Baptist Church on Saturday starting at 11 a.m., his obituary says.