Body of second woman found in Berkeley County

Searchers have located the body of a second woman in Berkeley County woods about 10 miles from where the first one was found near her burned car Tuesday, authorities said.

Coroner Bill Salisbury said he strongly believes the second woman is 22-year-old June Guerry. The determination was based on clothing on the body.

Authorities announced the find around 5:45 p.m. today, saying the body was located off Greenwood Road in the Alvin community.

Crews have been searching the area for Guerry.

Guerry’s friend, 18-year-old Dana Woods was found dead Tuesday from a gunshot wound and her body was left 75 yards from where her burned car was found in the Francis Marion National Forest, according to the Berkeley County Coroner.

Salisbury would not say exactly when Woods, 18, died or how many times she was shot. She was not burned, he said.

The man who found the car was in the area looking for a place to go fishing, Salisbury said.

Woods and Guerry were last seen late Sunday at a Burger King in Moncks Corner. Relatives said they had left that evening to take a family member home to Pinopolis.

Now that both bodies have been located, the investigation focus is now on who is responsible for killing the two women, said Dan Moon, spokesman for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office.

Woods’ mother, Jennifer Hill, was the first to confirm her daughter’s death this morning.

“There’s no reason anybody would hurt those two girls,” she said. “They were both good girls.”

Hill told The Berkeley Independent that Dana had been out doing a favor for her – taking her cousin home to the child’s mother in Pinopolis and then picking up her friend Guerry to give her a ride home.

“(Dana and June) weren’t going out,” Hill said. “Dana doesn’t do that sort of thing. She was actually doing a favor for me.

“June and Dana loved each other so much. And I know Dana wants June found. Dana would have done anything to protect June so she could go home to her baby, and we’re all praying that June is found safe. I know Dana would want that.”

Dana had finished her final year of high school as a home schooled student with Berkeley County’s K-12 Virtual Charter School program. She was simultaneously taking college courses at Trident Tech. She wanted to eventually go to law school.

Hill remembered her daughter as one who would go out of her way to help and protect others and would often put others’ needs ahead of her own.

“Dana had this need to protect,” her mother told the Independent. “Dana would do anything to protect those she loved. I suspect that’s what happened to her. She was protecting June.”

Deputies were out in force today trying to find June and determine what happened to Dana.

Check back for more information as it becomes available.

Reach Andrew Knapp at 937-5414 or twitter.com/offlede. Reach Dan Brown at dbrown@berkeleyind.com