Skeleton found by SC hunters identified as missing 24-year-old, coroner says
The skeleton found by hunters in the South Carolina woods has been identified as a missing man, the Aiken County Coroner’s Office said.
After being discovered in October 2019, DNA tests showed the human remains were Devante A. Williams, Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release.
The 24-year-old Clearwater man was reported missing in January 2019, according to the release.
His death is considered “highly suspicious,” Ables said.
Skeletal remains were found by hunters off the Aiken/Augusta Highway in Burnettown, according to the release. That’s about 60 miles southwest of Columbia.
The hunters told the Burnettown Police about their grisly discovery, and more human bones were found after Aiken County Sheriff’s deputies searched the area with cadaver dogs, the coroner’s office said.
A DNA profile was made from forensic tests on the bones, and they were confirmed as Williams after they matched a sample provided by his mother, according to the release.
No cause of death has been determined, but it remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-648-6811, or report it to CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
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This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Skeleton found by SC hunters identified as missing 24-year-old, coroner says."
