Mother, Daughter Found Dead in Car in Lake Greenwood; Autopsies Wednesday

A mother and daughter, who were reported missing Sunday in Greenwood, were found dead in a car in Lake Greenwood early Tuesday morning. The coroner is continuing an autopsy, Wednesday, that began a day earlier.

The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Natural Resources says the mother and teenaged child were found in a car about 80 feet from shore about 2:00 a.m. Tuesday.

The mother and child were reported missing from the city of Greenwood after visiting a friend in Cross Hill. We’re told authorities backtracked the route they would have taken to return to the city.

Authorities say the car traveled down a dirt road at what they believed was a fast rate of speed and went off a wall into Lake Greenwood.

The Laurens County Coroner’s office have identified the victims as 36-year old Jennifer Dianna Jones and her 14-year old daughter, Alicia Michelle Jenkins. Agents with the State Law Enforcement Division have joined the investigation into the deaths.

Coroner Nick Nichols said at this point he has still not determined the cause of death. He added, this case has had an emotional impact on the recovery teams and investigators.

“Even as many years as I’ve been in the coroner’s office, to think about a child and a mother in a car that’s submerging,“ said Nichols. “It’s just horrible to think what they went through.“

Alicia Jenkins

Jennifer Jones

Courtesy: Greenwood Today