Description

On the afternoon of October 21, 1971, two university students discovered a body floating in the Congaree River while they were walking across a railroad bridge. The body was that of a female and was caught on tree limbs near the train trestle. She was estimated by the Calhoun County Coroner to be between 17 and 35 years old and "probably white". The body was intact but bloated and wearing a blue skirt, one silk stocking, and a lavender colored slip. The Coroner estimated that the body had been in the water for approximately 15 to 20 days. Unfortunately, the original autopsy report cannot be located. The remains appear to have been autopsied, with the head and hands removed, presumably for printing and odontological analysis. After initial efforts to identify the body failed, the decedent was buried on Calhoun County property in a marked grave. These remains were exhumed in 2019 as part of further efforts to identify this decedent using NAMUS and DNA testing. Further testing for genetic genealogy efforts have revealed the decedent to have mixed African and European ancestry suggesting she may have been culturally labeled African American.