I cannot believe this story, what are the odds of three people who knew each other turning up missing days apart from each other? Where’s the outcry on this story? If strange stories make national news, I don’t know why this one didn’t. This story is very odd!
The bodies found Monday in Florence are those of two black women, Florence County Coroner M.G. “Bubba” Matthews said Tuesday.
It remains unclear, however, whether the bodies are those of two of three women — Joretha Lynn Kirk, Rachel Samuel and Janie Mae Dixon — who have been reported missing in Florence in the past two months.
Autopsy results showed one of the women was stabbed to death about her upper body, Matthews said.
The other woman died of wounds whose nature couldn’t be determined because the decomposition was so severe, he said.
Investigators are treating the deaths as homicides.
Florence police were back Tuesday morning at a kudzu field near the 500 block of Gaillard Street by Jarrott Street where the bodies were found in shallow graves late Monday morning.
Matthews said he believes the remains had been there for several weeks.
The remains were in such a severe state of decomposition, Matthews said, he couldn’t determine their race or gender. An autopsy performed at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston determined that Tuesday.
Investigators are trying to use dental records to identify at least one of the bodies, and are hoping to identify both women as early as Wednesday morning.
Investigators processed the scene Monday with assistance from the State Law Enforcement Division’s forensics agents. A SLED profiler also is assisting in the investigation.
On Tuesday morning, investigators brought cadaver dogs to the scene, but they didn’t find anything more and left by noon.
People living around the area where the bodies were found gathered near the crime scene tape Tuesday morning. Many said they’re shocked and frightened by the discovery.
Andrea Wilder, who lives in the neighborhood, said the situation is depressing.
“… I think it’s very sad because it could’ve been anybody out here, kids or anybody,” she said, “and I think it’s very sad that they had to come out here and find them like this in our neighborhood like this.”
Florence Police Chief Anson Shells said Monday officers received a tip to search the area but did not elaborate.
The area is near where one of three Florence women reported missing in the past two months has an apartment.
Kirk, 42, was reported missing by her sister to Florence police Oct. 14 and hasn’t been seen or heard from since Oct. 9. Kirk, a black woman with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen in Florence wearing peach-colored pants and a shirt with black shoes.
She recently moved into a new Gaillard Street apartment and is employed by Wallace’s Old Fashioned Skins on McCurdy Road.
Kirk’s friend, 51-year-old Samuel of 304 Campbell St., was last seen by her roommate at her home Sept. 18. She is a black woman with brown hair and eyes, standing about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing about 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing a brown shirt and blue jeans.
Samuel’s sister reported her missing Sept. 29. Her sister and co-workers said she hasn’t come home or gone to work. Police said the last place they know Samuel went was to a dentist appointment in Florence.
On Monday, Florence police said Kirk’s cousin, 35-year-old Dixon, was reported missing by her sister Sept. 8. She was last seen at 134 N. Aiken Drive in Florence. About 5 feet 7 inches tall, she has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a brown tank top and blue denim jeans.
Joyce Walling, Dixon’s sister, said the family’s worried.
“It’s been crazy. It’s been scary. Not knowing is the worst part,” Walling said.
Two other people reported missing in Florence in the past three months have been found dead.
The body of 17-year-old Jeremiah Jenkins was discovered Aug. 30 in a vacant building on South Irby and Cedar streets.
Jenkins was reported missing Aug. 6. An autopsy showed he had been stabbed and beaten about the head. Police arrested three suspects in connection with his death in early September.
On Aug. 27, Florence resident Willie Mae Hayes, 69, was found dead on Mallory Street after she was reported missing by her family two days earlier. Four suspects, including two 14-year-old boys, were arrested and charged in connection with Hayes’ death.
Anyone with information on Dixon’s, Samuel’s or Kirk’s whereabouts is asked to call the police department (843) 665-3191 or Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee at (843) 667-TIPS (8477) or (866) 369-TIPS (8477). Callers need not reveal their identities.
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