A tragic start to the week for the Beaufort Community

Two incidents within the last three days have laid a somber shroud over Beaufort this week. On Sunday, February 3, a resident of Lady's Island discovered an unidentified body in the marsh near the Frogmore Airport. The body, in an advanced state of composition, belonged to an adult male. After hearing this news many people in Beaufort speculated that the body may belong to teenage Malik Spencer, who had been missing from his Lobeco home since mid December. Today we learned that was not the case. Spencer's remains were discovered in Bamberg County today off of Highway 78. An autopsy revealed the young man's death to be due to gunshot wounds. This discovery signals the conclusion of an ongoing search that has spanned almost two months. It does not conclude the search for answers to this tragic death. Despite being discovered in Bamberg Spencer's car was found abandoned on St. Helena Island shortly after his disappearance. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Lowcountry Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111.

The remains of the individual discovered near the Frogmore Airport are still unidentified. They are scheduled for autopsy at MUSC sometime this week.