The identification gives LaShaunda Spurlock’s family an answer after investigators spent two years pursuing leads in her disappearance.
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — Human remains found months ago at a Bennettsville apartment complex have been identified as LaShaunda Spurlock, a 43-year-old Chesterfield County woman who had been missing since April 2024, authorities said.
The identification resolves one major question in a disappearance that investigators had worked for more than two years, but it does not fully explain what happened to Spurlock. Her remains were found April 23, 2026, in a trash can near an apartment complex in Bennettsville, roughly two years after she was last seen in neighboring Chesterfield County.
Spurlock was last seen April 29, 2024, getting into an older-model, four-door red car on Coit Chapman Lane in the Cheraw area. Earlier reports also placed the beginning of the missing-person investigation in the Society Hill community. Authorities said Spurlock had a learning disability, and investigators initially considered the possibility that she was trying to travel to New York to meet a man she had been communicating with online.
Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigator Damien Shields said Spurlock’s mother became concerned when her daughter did not return home. Investigators continued following leads and trying to locate people who might have information about where Spurlock had gone, Shields said.
The discovery in Bennettsville brought new attention to Spurlock’s case in April. Investigators initially stopped short of identifying the remains, saying testing was needed before they could determine whether they belonged to her. Bennettsville Police Chief Sammy Crosland said at the time that clothing associated with Spurlock had been found during the investigation, but the Marlboro County coroner had not yet confirmed an identity.
That uncertainty ended in August when authorities confirmed the remains were Spurlock’s. Shields said the outcome was painful but provided a measure of closure for her family after the long search. Spurlock’s relatives had spoken publicly during the spring about the difficulty of living for two years without knowing what had happened to her.
The investigation into the remains also led Bennettsville police to arrest Luke Douglas Jr. in April. Authorities said Douglas was believed to have been the last person to see the victim and accused him of concealing the remains before they were placed in the trash. He was charged in connection with the desecration and removal of human remains. The allegations against Douglas have not been adjudicated.
Police have not announced a murder charge against Douglas. Bennettsville authorities said in August that they were not bringing additional charges against him at that time. The available public information does not establish how Spurlock died or who, if anyone, may be criminally responsible for her death.
For Chesterfield County investigators, the identification closes the missing-person portion of a case that began with a family searching for a loved one and continued across county lines after the remains were found in Bennettsville. Questions surrounding the circumstances of Spurlock’s death remain unresolved as authorities continue handling the case.
Author note: Last updated August 20, 2026.