Authorities in South Carolina said Wednesday they discovered a body in the search for Elena Katherine Moore, a 39-year-old woman reported missing Friday.
Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green announced at a press conference that the unidentified body was found at about 2:48 p.m. EDT following a tip from the public. The tip stated Moore was seen Thursday in the area of North Lake Drive and Old Cherokee Road, Green said, adding that the sighting occurred between 4 and 6 p.m.
A search of the area launched at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the body was found a little more than an hour later.
Green said the body “fits the clothing description of our missing person.” According to authorities, Moore was last seen wearing an olive-green zip-up hoodie with black athletic pants.
“We are still waiting on the coroner to identify her,” Green said.
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher confirmed in a separate statement that a woman’s body matching Moore’s clothing description was found, but that no positive identification has been made.
“We will await positive identification before any further information is released,” the coroner’s office said. “No cause of death has been determined.”
An autopsy will be scheduled in the coming days, according to the office, which said the “process will take time.”
Moore was last seen walking toward a wooded area after leaving a Planet Fitness in Lexington, S.C., just outside Columbia, on Thursday evening. She was reported missing Friday.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has been asked to investigate the death. Green said he was limited in what he could discuss and did not state whether foul play is suspected.
He said Moore’s vehicle was with her husband and that authorities did not know how she got to the Planet Fitness.