A 64-year-old woman has been missing since yesterday after she was last seen walking out of a Lancaster hospital, and police are now asking the public to help track her down. Camille Hammond was last seen at approximately 2:55 p.m. leaving MUSC-Lancaster, wearing a green T-shirt, a dark blue cardigan, and blue jean capri pants. She is described as a white woman standing 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 116 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
The Lancaster Police Department posted the appeal to Facebook Wednesday evening, asking for the public's help in locating Hammond. She was last seen leaving MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center, a 211-bed acute care facility at 800 West Meeting Street, according to MUSC Health. It remains unclear whether Hammond was at the hospital as a patient, a visitor, or an employee, and investigators have not said whether she left on foot or in a vehicle.
What Investigators Are Asking the Public
Anyone who has seen Hammond or has information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the Lancaster Police Department at 803-283-3313. Anyone who knows her current location should call 911 immediately. The department also operates an anonymous crime tip hotline at 803-289-6040, and community members can submit confidential tips online through P3 Tips at p3tips.com/983 or via Midlands Crime Stoppers at 888-CRIME-SC, per the City of Lancaster.
South Carolina law does not allow police departments to impose any mandatory waiting period before accepting and investigating a missing person report, meaning officers were able to begin working Hammond's case immediately. It is not yet known whether Hammond has any medical conditions or cognitive impairments that could trigger South Carolina's Endangered Person Notification System, which the state operates through SLED under Section 23-3-330 of the state code. That system, when activated, allows law enforcement to issue statewide advisories and post alerts on highway digital signs for missing adults believed to be vulnerable, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
A Second Search Underway in Lancaster
Hammond's disappearance comes the same day Lancaster police also launched a search for a missing 15-year-old last seen in the early morning hours, as Hoodline reported in its own coverage. The two unrelated cases mean Lancaster investigators are running parallel searches for missing residents at opposite ends of adulthood, though authorities have not suggested any connection between them.
Lancaster County has an aging population that skews slightly older than the rest of the state, with residents 65 and older making up 21.8% of the county's roughly 114,300 people, compared with a statewide average of 19.8%, according to USAFacts. The city of Lancaster itself, known as the Red Rose City and sitting within the Charlotte metro area, recorded a population of 8,460 in the 2020 U.S. Census.
How Missing Person Cases Typically Play Out
Statewide, SLED's Missing Person Information Center tracks between 700 and 800 active missing person cases at any given time. If Hammond remains unaccounted for 30 days after the report was filed, state law requires SLED to process any family-submitted DNA sample for entry into the federal Combined DNA Index System, a legal escalation built into South Carolina's missing persons statute. Nationally, data tracked by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children suggests roughly 90% of missing person cases coordinated through law enforcement are ultimately resolved safely, though no timeline has been given for Hammond's case specifically.
For now, police are relying on the public's memory of Hammond's last known movements near the hospital on West Meeting Street. Anyone with information is urged to call the Lancaster Police Department or dial 911 if Hammond's current location is known.
