Elena Moore update: Body found in wooded area in search for missing Lexington woman; authorities provide update
A body has been found in the search for Elena Katherine Moore, a woman who was reported missing last week after she left a gym in Lexington, South Carolina. The 39-year-old is described as a white woman with brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds, police said, per NBC News.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which serves as the state’s major crimes unit, joined an investigation in South Carolina on Wednesday, June 17, after authorities said they found a body in a wooded area where Moore was last seen about a week ago.The Lexington Police Department (LPD) said that the body “fits the clothing description of our missing person” but has not yet been formally identified yet.
The case has been classified as an active death investigation. SLED is now assisting in determining the cause of death and confirming the identity, Fox News reported.
LPD Chief Terrence Green said that authorities found the body after receiving a citizen tip that led investigators to carry out a targeted search.
“At approximately 2:48 p.m. we found an unidentified body that fits the clothing description of our missing person. We are still waiting on the coroner to identify her,” Green said.
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The woman whose body was found was reportedly wearing a “similar green outfit” consistent with what Moore last seen wearing on surveillance footage the night before she went missing. The coroner is yet to formally identify the body. The Lexington County Coroner’s Office said that an autopsy will be scheduled but the process could take some time.
“In reference to the body found in Lexington in the area of Old Cherokee Road and Northlake Drive. Coroner Margaret Fisher can confirm the body of a female matching the clothing description of the missing person, Elena K. Moore has been found,” the office said in a statement.
“No positive identification has been made as of this time. We will await positive identification before any further information is released. No cause of death has been determined,” it added.
On being asked if foul play was suspected, the police said, “Again, it’s an active investigation and we are having SLED investigate that.”
The disappearance of Elena Moore
Moore was last seen leaving the Planet Fitness at 560 Whiteford Way on Thursday, June 11. She was seen walking toward a wooded area behind a Lowe’s Home Improvement store, Lexington police said. She was last seen wearing an olive green zip-up hoodie and black athletic pants.
On Friday, June 12, Moore was reported missing by someone who told police that she frequented that Planet Fitness gym. “Further investigation revealed that she had signed in at that location on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at approximately 6:40 p.m.,” police said. “No further contact with the missing woman has been reported.”
Surveillance footage placed Moore at a Publix grocery store parking lot around 9:17 pm the night she went missing.
Anyone with information on Moore’s whereabouts is urged to contact Lexington police by calling (803) 358-7271 or writing to [email protected].