Richland County Sheriff’s investigating homicide after finding unresponsive woman

A Richland County Sheriff’s are investigating a homicide after finding a woman in a heavily wooded area near Lower Richland High School early Sunday morning.

Sgt. Kevin Lawrence said deputies found an unoccupied vehicle with the keys inside and unlocked, while parked in the middle of the road on the 5300 block of Lower Richland Blvd. After the road hazard was towed, deputies searched the area, and an unresponsive female was found in nearby woods at 5:30 a.m., Lawrence said.

Lawrence said EMS transported the female to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead on the scene. Lawrence didn’t identify the female and said a cause of death hasn’t been determined, but added that the Sheriff’s Office is ruling the death a homicide.

Lawrence said the coroner’s office will release the female’s name and aid in determining the cause of death for the investigation.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 7:38 AM with the headline "Richland County Sheriff’s investigating homicide after finding unresponsive woman."