Missing Beaufort County man found dead near Bluffton, police say. Here’s what we know
Five days after he was reported missing, the body of a 49-year-old man who used a wheelchair was found in the Bluffton area.
Police were investigating but had not said if the man’s death was deemed suspicious as of Tuesday.
Authorities found Darren Mulligan dead Monday evening near Gibbet Road, which connects May River Road with S.C. 170 in the unincorporated community of Pritchardville.
Mulligan was reported missing Jan. 15. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office alerted residents about the “missing and endangered” man the following day, advising he was in a wheelchair and was last seen around 1 p.m. Jan. 11 leaving the Albany General Store in Dale.
Due to the closure of county facilities Tuesday and Wednesday for a likely winter storm, Mulligan’s autopsy would be delayed to later in the week, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Master Sgt. Danny Allen. Details about the death, including whether or not foul play is expected, would be released after the autopsy is completed.
Allen said Tuesday that police were investigating the incident as a “death scene,” not necessarily a homicide.
A spokesperson for the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office could not immediately be reached for questions Tuesday afternoon.
Public records show Mulligan lived in Seabrook, located in northern Beaufort County near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 4:54 PM.
