A body discovered earlier this week in Lexington County, South Carolina, has been confirmed as that of missing fitness trainer Elena Katherine Moore, authorities reported on Friday.
The Lexington County Coroner’s Office identified the remains of a 39-year-old white woman found near Old Cherokee Road and Northlake Drive on June 17th. Moore had gone missing after leaving a Planet Fitness gym on June 11th.
Interestingly, autopsies will not be conducted by the local coroner’s office. Instead, Moore’s body is being examined at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where a forensic autopsy is set for Saturday.
Details regarding the cause and manner of Moore’s death will be shared on Monday, June 22nd, as per the coroner’s office.
Officials noted that figuring out the exact cause of death is a complex process that may take days or even weeks. Until all investigations are complete, no further details will be released.
The South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement (SLED) is taking charge of the investigation, and any related questions should be directed to them.
The identification came just two days after authorities located Moore’s body in a wooded area based on new information that prompted a redirected search.
Previously, Lexington Police Chief Terence Green mentioned that the body matched Moore’s clothing description. Last seen on the evening of June 11th, Moore was captured on surveillance footage leaving a Planet Fitness gym.
“The found body was indeed dressed in the same green attire that matched what Moore had on,” Green confirmed.
Moore’s disappearance attracted significant attention, as friends noted she had been behaving erratically in the weeks leading up to her going missing. In a conversation with Fox News Digital, a close friend, Sondra Campbell, mentioned that during their last meeting on May 31st, Moore had expressed feeling fearful for her life. “She actually said those words to me,” Campbell recalled.
Moore had last been spotted walking through the Publix parking lot after leaving the gym, and friends noted her sudden inactivity on social media in the month before her disappearance.
The Lexington County Coroner’s Office expressed their condolences to Moore’s family and urged anyone with information related to the case to reach out directly to SLED.
