Coroner provides update on woman found dead after going missing in Myrtle Beach
Sheridan Wahl, a Florida college student who was reported missing in Myrtle Beach before being found dead in Florence County, died from multiple blunt force injuries due to a fall, according to the Florence County Coroner’s Office.
The coroner’s office stated Monday that her manner of death is considered “undetermined.” The details of Wahl’s death have remained a mystery for nearly two months.
Wahl, 21, was found dead behind the Hannah-Salem Friendfield Fire Department’s Training Tower on Sept. 21. Police found her car burned in a cornfield about nine miles away from where her body was found around 48 hours earlier.
The Florence County Coroner’s Office collaborated with the Medical University of South Carolina in the investigation, autopsy and toxicology studies.
“Through a collaborative investigation, autopsy and toxicological studies, it has been determined that Sheridan died as a result of Multiple Blunt Force Injuries Due to a Fall,” the Florence County Coroner’s Office stated in a news release.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department initially opened the investigation when Wahl was reported missing on Sept. 19 here, where she was in town to visit her father, though she never made it there. Police determined Wahl left the city “safely” before asking the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to step in and take over the case.
According to a police report, Wahl was on a FaceTime call with her mother around 1 p.m. Sept. 19 in the 300 block of South Ocean Boulevard trying to rent a scooter.
She was denied service for not wearing shoes, and Wahl told her mother she was returning home.
Wahl was told to spend the night to avoid a long drive home, according to the report. Police say her family was unable to reach her after she spoke to her mother and calls to her phone went straight to voicemail.
A body found in Florence County on Sept. 21 turned out to be that of Wahl, spurring further investigation.
SLED has yet to provide any information about its probe to the public since Wahl was reported missing. The Sun News attempted to contact SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby on Monday but did not immediately get a response.
Officials have not named suspects nor stated whether they suspect foul play.
A local autopsy was completed Sept. 24 before being sent to the MUSC, which is in Charleston, Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken said. He previously told The Sun News it could take three weeks to determine the cause of Wahl’s death, pending the outcome of toxicology testing.
Ultimately, the testing took nearly two months and came back “undetermined.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 5:02 PM.
