VIDEO: Officials Investigate Death in Newberry

Newberry, S.C. (WOLO) — The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a body that was found in Newberry County Monday morning.

Sheriff Lee Foster says a motorist reported a body on the shoulder of US-176 around 7:30 am.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the body of a black male victim in his late 50’s or early 60’s was found in the area with a gunshot wound to the torso. Sheriff Foster says he does not believe the location they found the body is where the original crime occurred.

“The body was certainly dumped there,” said Sheriff Foster.

Official are continuing to look for suspects in the case and are following several leads in the area. On Monday afternoon, crime scene units spent several hours at a residence on Byrd Street in Whitmire hoping to piece together what led to the murder.

“We are working in trying to find out if anybody had seen anything, this is a well traveled road between Pomaria and Whitmire so there may be some connection with either one of these 2 communities,” explained Sheriff Foster.

As they continue to investigate, the Sheriff says he does not believe there is any threat to the community.

“Certainly there is somebody out there that committed a murder and anybody that does that should be considered dangerous,” said Sheriff Foster. “Although, we have no reason to believe that the community or the public is in any danger at this time because we don’t have a whole lot of information regarding it.”

An autopsy on the victim is expected to be conducted early Tuesday morning. Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers or contact the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.