Police ID body but cause of death unkown
A Greenwood woman has been identified as the person found dead along Smith Valley Road during the weekend.
But investigators don’t know yet what caused her death, and a final answer could still be weeks away.
Delores Hardin, 60, was found dead along the side of Smith Valley Road, near Valley Oaks Road, on Sunday morning. Hardin was found face down, about 20 to 25 feet off the nearby walking trail, Greenwood Police Assistant Chief Matt Fillenwarth said.
An autopsy Monday did not reveal a cause of death, Coroner Craig Lutz said.
Now, investigators will wait for toxicology testing, which could take four to eight weeks, he said.
The autopsy found no signs of trauma to the body, and investigators suspect the death was a suicide based on evidence found at the scene, Lutz said.
Hardin was found after a passerby called police to report seeing a body along the side of the road after the sun came up Sunday morning, Fillenwarth said.
Police found notes addressed to people in her purse, apologizing, he said.
They also only found one set of footprints leading to Hardin’s body. And they found no signs of trauma or a struggle that would indicate anyone else was involved, he said.
Investigators will wait for the results of lab testing, but suspect the death was either a suicide or that Hardin died of a medical condition, Fillenwarth said.
