Deputies responding to privately owned land near Bear Creek Park in Lancaster County discovered human skeletal remains Saturday afternoon that appeared to have been exposed to the elements for a long time. The remains were found in a field near South Potter Road, in the unincorporated Elgin community just southeast of the city of Lancaster, and investigators located a duffel bag containing personal effects nearby that they hope will help identify who the bones belonged to.
Deputies were dispatched to the scene at 12:45 p.m. on October 17, according to a media release from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office. Crime scene investigators secured the area, documented the scene, and collected personal effects from the duffel bag that are said to have provided leads concerning the person's identity.
Investigators said they have not discovered any evidence of foul play. The Lancaster County Coroner collected the remains from the scene, and both the sheriff's office and the coroner's office are now jointly investigating the discovery.
Richland County's Forensic Anthropologists Take Over Analysis
The remains have been sent to the Richland County Coroner's Office Forensic Anthropology Department, which will examine them to determine the person's identity along with the cause and manner of death.
It's not the first time Lancaster County has turned to that arrangement. In November 2024, utility workers found long-exposed skeletal remains scattered across a 100-yard wooded area off Bethel Road in the southwestern part of the county, a case that was also referred to Richland County's coroner's office, per a post in a cold case research group. Those remains were estimated to have been exposed for years, with no immediate evidence of foul play — a striking parallel to what investigators are seeing at the South Potter Road site.
Why Bones, Not Bodies, Turn Up in South Carolina Woods
Forensic anthropologists examine bone structure to develop a biological profile when soft tissue is unavailable.
Sheriff Barry Faile said investigators know very little at this early stage and are hoping that examination of the remains, paired with the personal items found nearby, will lead to an identification soon. He encouraged anyone with information to contact the sheriff's office.
Legal Tools for Matching Remains to the Missing
South Carolina law gives investigators a structured path for exactly this kind of case. Under South Carolina Code § 23-3-635, part of the Unidentified Human Remains DNA Database Act, SLED must conduct DNA testing after it is notified that an unidentified person's body remains unidentified after 30 days; SLED may test earlier at its discretion when necessary, and the results must be entered into the Combined DNA Index System, according to the South Carolina Legislature.
Anyone with information about the South Potter Road discovery is asked to call the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office at 803-283-3388 and select option 4, submit a tip at www.p3tips.com/983, or use the P3Tips mobile app, available for both Apple and Android devices. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
