Reports: Human remains found during search in woods near South Carolina coast

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. — Human remains were found during a search through the woods near the South Carolina coast this week, authorities announced.

WPDE reports the remains were found in Georgetown County during the search on Wednesday and Thursday. Law enforcement officials have not yet identified the remains or said who authorities were looking for at the property, according to WPDE.

On Friday, deputies announced the sheriff would be holding a news conference on Monday.

WCIV reports that crews brought heavy equipment on and off the property during the search Thursday. They were focused on a wooded area outside the town of Georgetown.

The search comes days after WCIV reported Raymond Moody, a person of interest in the disappearance of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel more than a decade ago, was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice in Georgetown County.

Crews were searching this week 2.5 miles from a motel where Moody was living at the time Drexel disappeared. Authorities had searched that building extensively when they named Moody a person of interest in Drexel’s 2009 disappearance from Myrtle Beach, WPDE reported.

When Moody lived there, the property was in a largely undeveloped area. The nearby subdivision was in its early stages.

Authorities have not confirmed the search efforts this week are related to the Brittanee Drexel case, according to WPDE.

Drexel, from Rochester, New York, disappeared in April 2009 while visiting family members on a trip to Myrtle Beach. She was last seen leaving the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard on April 25, 2009.

Moody, a resident of Georgetown County and a convicted sex offender, was identified as a person of interest early on in the investigation into her disappearance. However, law enforcement previously said they did not have enough evidence to mark him as a definitive suspect, WPDE said.

A check of Moody’s online jail records Wednesday night showed he was being held on $100,000 bond for the obstruction of justice charge, WPDE reported. That same day, a Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson would not share if Moody is facing other charges.

The Georgetown County Sheriff announced a 2 p.m. news conference on Monday “in regards to recent law enforcement activity within Georgetown County.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

WPDE and WCIV contributed to this report.

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