A body has been found in South Carolina with clothing that matches that of a woman who went missing last week after leaving a gym, police said Wednesday.
The remains were found around 2:48 p.m. in an area not far from the gym after Lexington police received a tip that the missing woman, Elena Katherine Moore, had been seen in the area on June 11, Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green said.
The body “fits the clothing description of our missing person,” he said at a news conference.
“We are still waiting on the coroner to identify her,” Green said.
The discovery comes after police in Lexington, a city of around 23,000 west of Columbia, asked the public’s help in locating Moore, 39.
She was last seen leaving a Planet Fitness gym on June 11, and was reported missing the next day by someone who told police that she frequented that gym.
Moore had been wearing an olive green zip-up hoodie and black athletic pants, police have said.
Lexington police have asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, known as SLED, to conduct the death investigation.
Green on Wednesday would not say whether foul play is suspected, citing the investigation.
“It’s an active investigation, and we are having SLED investigate that,” Green said.
The body was found in the area of Old Cherokee Road and Northlake Drive, officials said.
Green said that media coverage of the missing persons case helped lead to the tip that ended with a body being found.
The tip came in around 1 p.m. Wednesday, and police and fire officials launched a search and later discovered the body, Green said.
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said in a post on social media Wednesday that the identification of the body and cause of death were pending, and that an autopsy will be conducted.
“This process will take time so thank you for your patience,” Fisher said.
