Search for buried fetus takes Lexington police and county coroner to Columbia home
A search for human remains led the Lexington Police Department and Lexington County Coroner’s Office to Columbia.
Multiple law enforcement agencies searched on Wallace Street, Lexington police spokesman Sgt. Cameron Mortenson told The State. That’s near the intersection of Elmwood Avenue and Bull Street, about a half mile from Segra Park.
On Monday, several sources told investigators that a baby had been delivered by a woman at her residence in Lexington, who took the fetus to a home in Columbia, where it was buried, police said in a news release.
That prompted police to get a search warrant for the home at 2315 Wallace St., according to the release. After searching until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Mortenson said the agencies would resume the search in the morning due to rain.
Information on the woman who gave birth to the child, or when the baby was born, was not available, and Mortenson would not say if it was a murder investigation. There was no word on potential criminal charges, or if anyone else was involved.
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher confirmed to The State that her office was assisting in the investigation, saying officials have been digging in the backyard of the Columbia residence since about 9 p.m. Monday.
“We’ve been using just muscle so far, shovels and muscle,” Fisher said. “We have an anthropologist who is out here helping us with the search. The anthropologist is trained in, of course, excavation and has been assisting us in how to search and where to search.”
Cadaver dogs are also being used in the search, but nothing had been found as mid-afternoon, Fisher said.
The investigation was not considered an ongoing threat to the community, according to Fisher.
“I can tell you that there is no danger; it’s isolated to this address,” Fisher said.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents were on the scene to help with the execution of a search warrant, SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby told The State. Lexington police were leading the investigation, according to Crosby.
Although the search is taking place in its jurisdiction, the Columbia Police Department is not involved with the investigation, spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons told The State.
Members of the Richland County Coroner’s Office are also assisting in the investigation.
Neighbor Gabby Sword, who has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years, said investigators had been digging through the night.
“I didn’t get any sleep. I sat on my back porch watching,” Sword said. “We heard the shovels.”
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 12:28 PM.
