Man finds skeletal remains in Anderson County, dropped them off at Goodwill Thrift Store

An Anderson man hiking Saturday night around 10 in a wooded area near the Graylyn subdivision off Concord Road near Highway 28 told police he found several human bones and dropped them off at the Goodwill Thrift Store.

According to the City of Anderson Police Department, the man brought a cardboard box containing seven bones to the Goodwill Thrift Store drop box at 3109 N. Main St.

A person reached at the Goodwill Thrift Store by the Independent-Mail on Monday declined to comment.

The Anderson County Coroner's Office and the City of Anderson Police Department initiated an investigation around 7 a.m. on Sunday, June 23.

Bones found at Goodwill Dropbox

Officers located cameras outside the Goodwill that provided footage of how the box arrived at the location.

While officers were checking the boxes, a female approached them and provided further information about the findings.

Who dropped the bones at Goodwill?

According to the Anderson Police Department, Officer Hunter Garrett responded to 3027 N. Main St. within the city limits of Anderson regarding the remains.

Garrett contacted the hiker, who told them he had found the bones and dropped them off at Goodwill.

After observing the bones, Garrett determined that they were all different shapes and sizes, some consistent with human bones.

Deputy Coroner Ty Blackwell was informed of the findings. After arriving on the scene, Blackwell examined them and sent pictures to a pathologist.

According to the police report, Blackwell advised that two of the seven bones could be ruled out as human bones because they were consistent with those of an animal.

Skeletal remains investigation

After conducting a thorough investigation, officials were able to locate several more bones and items.

According to the Anderson County Coroner's Office, the skeletal remains seem to have been in the area for a considerable period and were scattered across a wide area.

The identity of the skeletal remains has not been identified and will require further investigation to include DNA analysis, which could take several months, and the assistance of an anthropologist.

Officers also checked the Goodwill drop-off boxes for further evidence.

Ongoing investigation

Some rural areas in the Upstate have lost or unknown family graveyards, posing a possibility of where the bones came from.

According to initial information from the Anderson County Coroner's office, the location of the skeletal remains does not appear to be an old gravesite. They are checking with DHEC on that, but nobody indicated it was a gravesite when they were on the scene.

The Anderson County Office of the Coroner and the Anderson Police Department ask that people contact their offices for any information regarding this case.

This is an ongoing investigation by the Anderson County Office of the Coroner and the Anderson Police Department.

"We are contacting the FBI and SLED to assist with the DNA work, as we do not have the advanced capabilities to test for DNA, but we are not calling them in to assist with the investigation process," according to the Anderson County Coroner's Office.

Officials estimate the skeletal remains belong to a person who has been missing for at least a few years.

Individuals are advised to stay away from the area.

Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at trose@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Man finds skeletal remains in Anderson County, drops them at Goodwill