Gabbiee Swainson, a 15-year-old South Carolina girl, went missing nearly a year ago, and police said they found her remains on Thursday after suspect, Freddie Grant, led authorities to her body.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said her remains were found near Elgin, where Grant said he buried the girl, reported WLTX.
“The search for Gabbiee is over,” Lott said. “She is coming home.”
Regarding Grant’s statement, Lott said, “He’s taken us there. He’s told us. He’s showed us. We’re pretty confident that we’ve found where Gabbiee is buried,” according to WISTV.
Lott said that investigators went to the federal prison in Kentucky where Grant was being held. He took investigators to Elgin to find the girl’s remains.
“Many, many people walked that area,” Lott told the station. “But the way she was concealed, you wouldn’t know. The type of hole that he dug, the things he put on top of it. The cadaver dog would not have been able to find it at the depth that it was. We just couldn’t find it. There’s just no way of finding it without someone taking us to that area and showing us.”
Grant was the prime suspect in Swainson’s disappearance all along.
Deputies were at the scene in Elgin on Thursday, searching for Swainson’s remains. The area was searched when she disappeared last August.
Authorities say Grant had dated the girl’s mother, and duct tape with Swainson’s blood was found near his property.
Grant has already been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison on federal ammunition charges. He is awaiting trial in the girl’s disappearance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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