Some clues expected today in U.S. 17A body, but ID could remain mystery for weeks

MONCKS CORNER — It could take weeks to identify the woman's body found Monday along U.S. Highway 17 A, though Berkeley County authorities could receive some answers about how she died as soon as today.

The Coroner's Office said DNA testing to determine the woman's identity could take "a few weeks." An autopsy this morning could say whether natural causes, an accident or some type of crime caused her death. Sheriff's investigators were awaiting the same information.

"We're treading water right now until we get the autopsy results back," said Dan Moon, public information officer for the Sheriff's Office. "At this point we have suspicions, but we don't know who the body is."

A man riding a bicycle discovered the remains around 9:45 a.m. Monday. They had been lying in the woods in the woods between Oakley and Cypress Gardens roads an estimated 10 days or more, Coroner Glenn Rhoad said.

The state of decomposition and lack of other clues at the scene mean authorities will probably need DNA testing to confirm the identity. Officials were inquiring at labs Tuesday morning, Rhoad said.

The site where the body was found is near the home a 45-year-old woman missing since earlier this month. On May 6, a friend reported seeing Teresa Jo Moore walking along U.S. 17A toward Moncks Corner accompanied by a man on a bicycle. People close to Terry Moore suspect that medicine she took to treat epilepsy may have contributed to her wandering off.

Her family members watched Monday near the scene. They had been distributing fliers with her photograph since her disappearance.

Read more in tomorrow's Post and Courier.