More than 24 hours into N. Augusta search, woman remains missing
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The search continued without success Thursday for a missing woman who wandered into the woods after a car crash.
Multiple law enforcement agencies began searching for Susan Rhodes on Wednesday afternoon, and now more than 24 hours have ed since the search began.
But she still hasn’t been found.
The North Augusta Department of Public Safety said Thursday afternoon that authorities searched using drones and a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter equipped with heat detection devices, but didn’t find a trace of her.
Authorities also bused tracking dogs and teams of officers in a grid formation to search the woods where she’d last been seen.
“We have found no evidence leading to her location in that area,” said Clay Swann with the North Augusta Department of Public Safety.
After the car crash happened around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, the search lasted from 4:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m., then resumed around 7 a.m. Thursday.
At one point Thursday, a creek seemed to be the focus, with about five officers searching it. Authorities had said earlier they found her footprints in a creek that empties out of Gregory Lake.
Her family have not had any with Rhodes.
“We’re not giving up,” Swann said Thursday morning.
Rhodes was last seen wearing a red shirt, black shoes, a hat and has an arm in a sling. She is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall.
The department says it responded to a car crash on Gregory Lake Road at the entrance to Gregory Landing subdivision.
One of the cars involved in the crash left the roadway and went into a ditch, according to officers.
The department says the car was being driven by Rhodes, who got out of the car and wandered off into the woods.
A witness told officers that Rhodes appeared to be disoriented and possibly suffering from some type of medical issue.
Officials tell News 12 that they have no reason to believe Rhodes is a threat to the community and that they believe this is a medical episode she had.
Our crews reported close to 20 marked and unmarked cars on the scene Wednesday evening.
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The Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and the Aiken County Department of Public Safety have been assisting in the search with K-9s and drones. Officials with the North Augusta Department of Public Safety say they have also reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for drone assistance.
SLED was planning to have a helicopter back in the area Thursday to help with the search.
Officials’ main concern is a nearby creek, which has risen to waist-deep due to recent rainfall. They say the search area is heavily wooded, and there are many downed trees from Hurricane Helene.
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Our crews on the scene saw Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office and North Augusta Public Safety officers parked at West Martintown Business Center. Those crews were later relocated to the Duraclean parking lot to make room for the crews on the way.
Officials say Rhodes was last seen going through a yard in the 2200 block of Gregory Lake Road.
Officials ask that you use caution in this area as multiple agencies are working together and on foot searching for Rhodes.
If you locate or see Rhodes, call 803-441-4200.
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