KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — After nearly a year of searching, Hannah Gates received the news no daughter hopes to hear.
Her mother, Lesley Lemoine was found dead New Year's weekend inside a donation bin off Highway 1 in Lugoff.
"Every day, every week that passed in those nine months, I got less and less hopeful," she said. "I'm 25-years-old and I'm planning a funeral. Not something I ever really thought I would have to do at this point in my life. Especially, not for a parent."
Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Boan said a tattoo helped identify Lemoine's body shortly after she was found.
"I just cried," Gates said. "She had a very warm heart and she always knew how to make anyone smile."
The process to find what led to her death could take much longer.
"We're waiting on the lab work and honestly that could take months," Sheriff Boan said. "They’re going to be checking a lot of different things to pretty much run every test they can at this point to try to determine that cause of death.”
Interviews from when Lemoine was considered missing will help, according to the sheriff. Though, it's unclear if other people were involved.
"We'll probably do some reinterviews of people we’ve already talked with and see if any additional people come up," Sheriff Boan said. "This is not just a body, this is a human being."
As the search for answers continues, Gates said she's leaning on what closure she does have and hoping more answers will come.
"Going to... continue to keep this alive and not let people forget that she was left there and she deserves justice," Gates said.
Anyone with information can share those details directly with the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office or by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.