LUGOFF, S.C. — Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Boan said a body found inside a donation bin in the county had likely been there for months before it was discovered on New Year's Eve.
The unidentified body was discovered on December 31st around 8:46 a.m. inside a metal clothing dumpster right off the busy us Highway One, between the Camden West Inn and Lugoff Toyota
"We had a gentleman here at the hotel who just happened to be passing by I don't know if it was the scent or something about it he decided to look into it and he determined that it was what appeared to be a leg of a human being inside the bin," said Boan.
After the discovery, Kershaw County Sheriff's Office and SLED confirmed a body was inside the bin. The bin was removed from the location.
"We feel it's an adult female based on the clothes found on the body but at this time we don't know the cause of death, we don't know who it is, we don't know the original location, we're thinking this is probably a dump site here, we don't know the original location of where she may have died, or how she may have died, so there are a lot of unknowns," he added.
Sheriff Lee Boan said the donation bin has been around for a long time but it appears it hasn't been checked for items in years.
"Someone probably put it out here with good intentions of you know taking in some clothes and shoes for needy people, and over time whoever it was that put it out here may have moved somewhere or for whatever reason quit checking it," he said. "It just kinda stayed here deserted and it became a basically a trash bin."
The sheriff said it's way too early to rule anything out on whether this is a crime or an accident. But some answers may come later this week. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday at 2. p.m., and while additional tests may be needed for the cause of death, investigators may be able to finally positively identify the body.
"All hands are on deck," Boan said. "We're going to solve this."