Body of missing Clemson man found at Lake Hartwell

The body of a 21-year-old Clemson resident was found Sunday morning at Lake Hartwell.

The body of Andruw Earnhardt was found in Oconee County in a cove located near the Highway 76/123 bridge and a nearby railroad trestle that spans Lake Hartwell in the Seneca River Basin.

Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis confirmed the death and said an autopsy will be conducted to try to determine the case of death.

Earnhardt was reported missing to the Clemson Police Department on Feb. 25.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officers found the body around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Clemson Police Chief Jorge Campos said.

Clemson Police, Pickens County Emergency Management, Oconee County Emergency Management and the natural resources department had been searching Lake Hartwell since Monday.

Earnhardt’s wallet was found Tuesday at Lake Hartwell, not far from where his body was eventually found, Addis said.

On his Facebook page, Earnhardt is listed as a server at a Clemson restaurant. He attended D.W. Daniel High School and Tri-County Technical College and described himself as a freelance teacher.

At the time of his disappearance, law enforcement described him as endangered.

In a Facebook post on Dec. 27, Earnhardt wrote that his past haunts him daily and he could not find the courage to confront things that had happened to him.

“It hurts so much sometimes,” he wrote.

This story was originally published March 6, 2022 at 2:07 PM.