Body of woman missing for days found in bathroom at Columbiana Centre mall, police say

The body of a missing woman was found inside a department store bathroom at Columbiana Centre shopping mall, the Columbia Police Department said.

It’s believed the woman, who was identified by the Lexington County Coroner’s Office as Bessie Durham, 63, of Columbia, had been inside the bathroom at Belk for five days, Deputy Chief Melron Kelly told The State Wednesday.

Although there is no sign of foul play, body trauma or criminal activity, an investigation is ongoing, Kelly said.

Durham’s body was discovered in the Harbison-area shopping mall Monday night, according to Kelly.

Employees at Belk notified police they found the body at about the same time as officers responded to a residence in north Columbia on a missing person report, Kelly said.

The separate incidents appear to be related, as officers in north Columbia learned the missing woman was last seen at Belk, according to Kelly.

“We believe the missing person is who was found in the Belk bathroom,” Kelly said.

The deceased woman worked as a janitor at the department store, but it’s not clear if she was employed by Belk or a contract service, Kelly said.

According to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher, Durham was last seen alive on store surveillance cameras entering the bathroom area on Thursday at approximately 7 a.m. and was not seen exiting that area again.

Fisher said in a release that there will be an autopsy on Thursday at MUSC in Charleston. The coroner said foul play is not currently suspected.

Police are working with Columbiana Centre security and Belk officials to go over their opening and closing procedures and find out what type inspections are done in an effort to determine how the body could go unnoticed for so long, Kelly said.

Kelly said officers are also in contact with the woman’s family in an effort to put together a timeline. He said it’s believed the woman lived alone.

“This is awful and very sad. Our thoughts are with the family of the woman,” said Lindsay Kahn, a spokesperson for the mall that is owned by Brookfield Properties.

Kahn deferred questions about the incident to Belk, which has its own janitorial and security team separate from what the mall provides.

Messages left with Belk were not immediately returned.

Columbiana Centre welcomes millions of guests a year and provides for thousands of retail associate jobs, mall officials said earlier this year following a shooting.

On April 16, three men entered the mall with guns and exchanged gunfire, police said. Nine people were shot and six others were hurt as people ran away from the gunfire. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, police said.

None of the victims injured in the shooting and melee died.

The three men were each charged with attempted murder, unlawful carrying of a pistol and nine counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, police said.

Reporter Chris Trainor contributed to this report.