Unidentified woman found in Francis Marion Forest near burned car

An unidentified woman was found 100 yards from a burned 2000 Chevrolet Metro in the Francis Marion Forest, Berkeley County Sheriff’s authorities said late this afternoon.

Authorities are trying to confirm that the vehicle belonged to two women reported missing on Monday.

The dead woman’s body was not burned and was being taken to Medical University Hospital for an autopsy, officials said. Identification could come Wednesday.

There was no immediate indication that it was Dana Woods, 18, or June Guerry, 22, the two missing women.

Police continue to search the area on foot with dogs and horses.

The car was found about a mile down a dirt hunting road off Cane Gully Road, a remote and rural route through the national forest. Several people are at the heavily wooded site, combing the area for clues. A dive team is also searching a creek near where the car was found.

The missing women, who are friends, were last seen at a fast food restaurant in Moncks Corner, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dan Moon said.

Moon said investigators learned about the disappearance Monday and were trying to figure out the circumstances surrounding it.

Around 10:30 a.m. dispatchers asked deputies to be on the lookout for the women. The message for deputies included information that Verizon had last pinpointed Woods’ cellphone in the Felder Creek area of Jedburg.

Relatives said they last saw the women around 11 p.m. Sunday, when they left a family member’s home on Land O Pines Circle in Pinopolis. Jennifer Hill, Woods’ mother, said she last spoke with her daughter at 11:51 p.m., when Woods told Hill that she was going to a McDonald’s in Moncks Corner.

Family members described Woods as 5-foot-2 and 150 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes, and Guerry as 5-foot-4 and 140 pounds with auburn hair and blue eyes.

Woods, a student, works at Papa John’s, and Guerry is an employee of Walmart, relatives said. Guerry is due at work this evening.

April Guerry, 31, one of June Guerry’s five siblings, said her sister has a 2-year-old daughter whom she watches diligently.

But June Guerry hasn’t called, and no one has been able to reach her, April Guerry said.

“She has a daughter at the house right now, and she’s always checking on her if she does go off to do something,” April Guerry said. “We have heard nothing from her.

“My sister has never done anything like this.”

Reach Andrew Knapp at 937-5414 or twitter.com/offlede.