South Carolina authorities found remains Tuesday while searching for a missing mother of three, but are still working on the identification as family members hold out hope that it isn’t Megan Bodiford.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police and search crews found remains inside a car Tuesday in Bamberg County while searching for the 25-year-old.
Bamberg County Coroner Wallace Hicks was reportedly at the scene but hasn’t released information on the identity, as of Thursday afternoon.
“When they said that she was missing, I wasn’t expecting that type of news right there,” Bodiford’s cousin, Stephanie Nickens, told WIS 10.
“Saying that they found a car that was burnt and all this stuff. I wasn’t expecting to hear that at all.”
Wallace reportedly said the vehicle found matched the dark gray Ford Explorer that police said Bodiford may have been in when she vanished.
Bodiford’s family said the remains were found a few miles from her boyfriend Jarrett Haskell Davis’s home. The investigation has since been sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
A message sent by Bodiford to her friend before she disappeared read, “If you don’t hear from me in 30 minutes, he killed me. He has a gun.”
The friend contacted police the following day.
According to FITS News, Bodiford, a mother of three young daughters, was last seen on April 24 in Denmark. Friends said Bodiford would never leave without her children.
Court documents indicate that Davis is a parolee with an extensive criminal record, with pending charges of domestic violence in Barnwell County.
Bodiford’s friend mentioned that she had been in contact with Davis’ parole officer for a month leading up to Bodiford’s disappearance, with concerns about Bodiford’s safety. The friend reportedly told the officer that Davis had been in violation of parole but said he wasn’t detained.
On April 27, investigators reviewed cell phone data after concern that Bodiford’s 4-month-old baby was also missing. Noting an active warrant for Davis on a second-degree domestic violence charge, police requested assistance from the SLED Fugitive Task Force to execute a search warrant at Davis’ home.
At around 8:11 a.m., investigators obtained cell phone data from the boyfriend’s device. Within a few hours, law enforcement apprehended Davis as he exited a shed at the residence.
The baby was found safe inside the home.
Since sending the text message, Bodiford’s phone has been off. She was last seen with Davis and an unidentified woman with brown hair, friends said.
“I want to tell her so much right now that’s happening,” one of her friends said. “I know she would laugh. But really, I just want to know that she’s in a better place and have some closure.”
The sheriff’s office reports that the Bodiford is described as a white female who stands 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs around 188 pounds. She was last seen wearing a grey t-shirt and Batman pajama pants. Bodicord could be in a dark grey Ford Explorer with temporary South Carolina license tag, CP05330PR.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact the Bamberg County Sheriff’s Office at 803-245-3000.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Handout via FITS News]
