Authorities in South Carolina have announced the worst possible news in the disappearance of 6-year-old Faye Marie Swetlik. She has been found dead. Investigators are treating this as a homicide, said Byron Snellgrove, Director of the Cayce Department of Public Safety.
There have been no arrests. Snellgrove called the investigation “fluid.” He also mentioned that a deceased man was found in the Churchill Heights neighborhood. That investigation has just begun, he said. No suspects have been named.
There is no danger to the community, and they will continue to give more information when available, but they will not take questions, Snellgrove said.
Swetlik was reported missing at 5 p.m. on Monday, authorities said. She was last seen playing in the front yard of her home at about 3:45 p.m. In their bid to find her, investigators released footage on Wednesday of her exiting a school bus that day.
Investigators initially said that an AMBER Alert was not issued because the situation didn’t meet the guidelines. Now authorities say that someone possibly killed Swetlik.
Early search efforts for the 6-year-old included speaking to everyone in the neighborhood at the time of the disappearance, locating vehicles seen in the area, and searching her house.
[Image via Cayce Department of Public Safety]