Sheriff: Sex Offender in Custody After Missing Woman Found ‘Chained Like a Dog’ in Spartanburg Co.

WOODRUFF, SC (FOX Carolina) – The Spartanburg County sheriff said Thursday that an Anderson woman who went missing in August was found alive and being held captive in the Woodruff area.

Brown was reportedly being fed by her captor while chained up by her neck.

“It’s all by God’s grace we found that little girl alive,” Wright said. She is currently being treated at an undisclosed medical facility.

Brown, 30, and boyfriend Charles Carver were reported missing after disappearing in late August. Carver is still missing.

Brown’s mother said her daughter disappeared on social media on Aug. 28 and there has been no activity on her cell phone since Aug. 31. The mother later found Brown’s apartment unlocked and the dog inside without food and water. The dog’s crate was also missing.

To see a SLED sex offender map for where you live click here.

Anderson police began investigating the couple’s disappearance.

A few weeks later, mysterious posts on Facebook began to surface on the Facebook account belonging to Carver. The posts claimed Carver and Brown were alive and well but the missing woman’s family was not convinced.

The property owner is listed as Todd Kohlhepp, according to Spartanburg County tax records. Kohlhepp was arrested Thursday morning, according to the sheriff.

Kohlhepp is also a convicted sex offender listed on the SLED registry. He was convicted of kidnapping in Arizona in 1987. According to court records, Kohlhepp is working as a realtor at Todd Kohlhepp & Associates, LLC.

An agent working at TKA Real Estate said she knew of Kohlhepp’s sex offender status but said the arrest seemed “totally out of character.”

“I’m really hoping that there’s a mistake or something,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like him.”

Neighbors said Kohlhepp lived at a home in Moore but would regularly visit the property. One neighbor said he would drop by on evenings around 6 p.m. and stay for about an hour.

Wright said Kohlhepp will face a kidnapping charge and could face more, including murder, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

“We’re trying to make sure we don’t have a serial killer on our hands,” he said.

A backhoe was being used on the 100-acre property to search for evidence and Wright said some had been uncovered, but the investigation was ongoing.

Wright asked the public to pray for the victim and investigators, especially in light of the disturbing circumstances of the case.

To see a SLED sex offender map for where you live click here.