Dead Body Found 'Virtually Mummified' Inside Donation Bin Not Emptied In Years

A homicide investigation has been launched in the Kershaw County of South Carolina after a decomposing body was discovered inside a neglected donation bin.

Officials believe the body had been inside the metal bin for months before someone finally found it and alerted authorities.

The shocking discovery was made on Dec. 31, 2022, after a passerby noticed a foul smell coming from the rusty bin that was sitting well off U.S. Highway 1 in Lugoff, CBS News reported.

"We had a gentleman here at the hotel who just happened to be passing by I don't know if it was the scent or something about it he decided to look into it and he determined that it was what appeared to be a leg of a human being inside the bin," Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Boan said, as per WLTX.

It appeared as though the rusty donation bin had not been emptied for years, and it also contained VHS tapes.

Officials suspect that the body belongs to a woman.

"We feel it's an adult female based on the clothes found on the body but at this time we don't know the cause of death, we don't know who it is, we don't know the original location, we're thinking this is probably a dump site here, we don't know the original location of where she may have died, or how she may have died, so there are a lot of unknowns," Boan explained, according to the outlet.

Investigators initially thought the body belonged to someone who had gone inside the donation bin to escape the cold weather. However, they later realized that it had been inside the neglected bin for months.

Kershaw County Coroner David West said the body was too decomposed and "virtually mummified," WIS News 10 reported.

"The donation bin had likely not been emptied in many years," she told the outlet.

Both the body and the bin were taken as part of the investigation. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the unidentified individual's cause of death.

"I can assure you that your KCSO and coroner's office investigators are thoroughly working this suspicious death," Boan added. "We will know more facts as the investigation moves forward. It is very early in the investigation. We are NOT ruling out anything at this time."