Human remains found in barrel floating on South Carolina lake: police

A South Carolina man has been arrested after human remains were discovered stuffed in a barrel found floating on an upstate South Carolina lake, according to authorities.

Police in Cherokee County said they arrested Eric Shawn Fetzer, 25, for destruction, desecration or removal of human remains, according to local FOX Carolina.

The arrest came after deputies with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office joined both the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the emergency management offices of Spartanburg County and Cherokee County in an investigation Thursday at Lake Thicketty in rural Gaffney.

The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office identified the corpse as the remains of Jeffrey Sutphin, 56, who the sheriff’s office confirmed was reported missing June 15.

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Sheriff Steve Mueller said authorities found the remains after pulling the partially submerged barrel ashore and prying it open, according to local CBS affiliate WSPA.

“Deputies found the barrel near the shore and upon opening it found human remains,” said Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler. “It appears the body had been in the container for a number of days.”

Investigators suspect foul play regarding the body in the barrel.

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“We’ve still got about four investigators out working, as we speak, running down some leads and some information on this case. It’s developing fairly well,” Mueller said.

“It’s part of an ongoing investigation that led us to that area to search and look for human remains.”

The coroner’s office in Cherokee County reportedly ruled the man died in Spartanburg County after interviewing a person of interest, and the case was transferred to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office and Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.