CHARLESTON, S.C. – The body found in a shallow grave near Interstate 26 is likely that of a missing law enforcement officer, but a positive identification has not been made, the Charleston County Coroner said Sunday.
"We have not positively identified the body," Coroner Rae Wooten said. "But we have reason to believe it's him."
Constable Robert Lee Bailey, 67, was last seen May 14 making a traffic stop in Lincolnville, 50 miles away from where the grave was found.
Wooten said the body had decomposed to the point where a visual identification was not possible. She said there is evidence that it was not a natural death, but an autopsy was planned for Monday to determine the cause.
Charleston County Sheriff's spokesman Capt. John Clark said Sunday that tissue samples from the body had been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division in Columbia for analysis. And the body was removed from the shallow grave by a special team from Columbia and taken to the Charleston County coroner's office.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox