Body of missing Midlands woman found off the side of a road, SC coroner says
The search for a missing Midlands woman ended when the 55-year-old grandmother’s body was found off the side of a road, the Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office said Sunday.
The body found off of Five Chop Road, near State Road (Highway 176), was identified as Tina Marie Williamson, Coroner Sean Fogle said. That is less than 50 miles south of Columbia.
The Santee woman was last seen at her home on Nov. 17, according to the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Williamson’s body was found by bridge maintenance workers Friday morning, WCIV reported.
No cause of death has been determined, but an autopsy was scheduled for Monday, the coroner’s office said.
When Williamson was reported missing, Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell asked for the community’s help in finding her.
“We’re concerned, the family is concerned, she hasn’t been heard from for several days,” the sheriff said in a Nov. 21 Facebook post.
She has three children and four grandchildren, the Times & Democrat reported.
“Our family has literally been living everyone’s worst nightmare,” Williamson’s niece Meghan Jones said, according to the newspaper.
Now that her body has been found and identified, Williamson’s death is being investigated by the coroner’s office and the sheriff’s office.
Information on how Williamson disappeared was not available, and there was no word if her death was considered suspicious.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-534-3550, or Crimestoppers at 888-CRIME-SC, or submit an online tip.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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