BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify a woman who was found dead near Goose Creek 45 years ago.
Someone was clearing brush when they discovered skeletal remains off Highway 52 in the Mount Holly area on October 4, 1977. At the time, deputies were unable to identify who that person was, or even if they were male or female.
“Berkeley County Coroner George Murray responded at the time and collected the remains, and they went to the Medical University of South Carolina,” said Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis.
It was determined that the remains were there for six months to a year before being discovered.
However, they could not determine whether it was a male or female. Nobody ever claimed the body and it has never been identified. The current detective in charge of this case had the remains sent to the University of North Texas.
“The information that we received from them is that likely this is an African-American female, medium build, between the age of 30 and 60 and a reported height of 5 foot 4 to 5 foot 6,” Sheriff Lewis explained.
Sheriff Lewis’ team learned that the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office in Florida had recently received a grant for new facial recognition software. There, they were able to produce an incredible image of what the woman looked like.
“As you can see from this reconstruction, we don’t see things like this from skeletal remains. So, my hope is, Folks listen, I know this may be a longshot, from 1977, but my hopes are that somebody will recognize this person.”
Due to the facial features and poor dental care, they also determined that she may have ancestry ties to Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas.
“There is someone somewhere who has missed this person. We would like to talk to them. We would like to learn more about where they were back in 1977 and how we may help close this case out,” he said.
If you have any information about this woman, you are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111.
