Female’s body found in Mount Pleasant pond

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — The body of an unidentified female was found floating in a pond off Marsh Grove Avenue this afternoon.

About 5 p.m., a witness called 911 to report seeing something that appeared to be a human body in the water, Mount Pleasant Police Lt. Jennifer Backman said.

When rescuers arrived, they saw a body, floating face down, wearing a white shirt. The pond is near the Old Village Landing and Salt Grass Pointe neighborhoods off Center Street.

The person who called 911 was uncertain if the object in the water was actually a human being, Backman said. “It is so close to Halloween that nobody could really be sure,” she said. Once rescuers got there, they realized it was indeed a person, she said.

As a growing group of onlookers watched divers go into the pond, they quietly speculated about what might have happened.

“There are kids that swim in this pond,” said Birney Boehland, a resident of the neighborhood. He said he was hoping the victim was not a neighbor’s child. Another resident, Bob Graham, said it is a tidal pond and the body might have washed in from the harbor.

Divers retrieved the body about 6:45 p.m. and put her into a coroner’s van.

Charleston County Deputy Coroner Scott Ramsey said it was female body and that it appeared to have been in the water for a while.

A police officer carried away from the scene a large orange bag that appeared to contain evidence.

Mount Pleasant Police Capt. Stan Gragg later issued a news release saying the body was that of a middle-aged, white female, and there were no obvious signs of trauma. Identification and determination of her cause of death are pending an autopsy scheduled for Thursday, the release said.

The case is being investigated by the Coroner’s Office as well as the Police Department. The Charleston County Rescue Squad, Charleston County EMS and the Rev. Rob Dewey of the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy also responded to the scene.