Body found in wrecked car during search for missing woman, Columbia police say
The search for a missing Columbia woman has led investigators to Georgia, where police said Thursday that a body was found in a crashed car.
“While we have not positively identified the person inside we do believe it is the body of Ms. Shaua Brown,” Columbia Police Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said in an interview shared by the Columbia Police Department on its Twitter feed. “We are working with the family to positively identify her.”
Brown’s mother, Mozella Brown, reported the 39-year-old nurse missing late last week. On Monday, police publicly reported they were searching for Brown, who was set to travel to school in Alabama.
At that time, police said they didn’t believe Brown made it to her destination.
After reaching out for help from multiple neighboring law enforcement agencies in the search, police said they were informed that the Georgia State Patrol found a wrecked vehicle matching the description of the one Brown was driving.
In a wooded area Wednesday afternoon, Georgia State Troopers discovered a 2013 black Toyota Corolla registered to Brown near Exit 154 on the westbound side of Interstate 20 in Warren County, Georgia, according to police.
A female occupant who was wearing medical scrubs was found deceased, police said. Brown, an ICU nurse at Prisma Health Baptist Hospital, was last seen wearing royal blue nursing scrubs, according to police.
Based on the discovery and their own investigation, police said they believed the female driver was likely involved in a single-vehicle collision during the early morning hours of July 10. That’s the last day Mozella said she spoke with her daughter, and that the lack of communication following was out of character for Brown.
Information about what caused the crash was not available, but no foul play is suspected, Kelly said.
A Midlands Technical College graduate, Brown was studying to be a nurse practitioner, Mozella told The State. Brown was taking online courses at Stamford University, and was heading to Birmingham for clinical training when she disappeared, according to Mozella.
Georgia authorities, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, are awaiting autopsy and DNA test results to make a positive identification, according to police.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but we’re working with the family very closely to bring them some closure. ... It’s a very hard situation,” Kelly said.
Staff intern Terry Benjamin contributed to this story.
