Unanswered Questions: A South Carolina coach’s appearance after a gym session has left many wondering what really took place
An autopsy did not identify an immediate cause of death for a South Carolina woman who was found dead last week after she left a gym, the coroner’s office said Monday.
The autopsy of Elena Moore was conducted Saturday at the Medical University of South Carolina, three days after her body was found Wednesday.
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said an examination found no evidence of traumatic injury, including bruising, lacerations, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, blunt force trauma, strangulation or other external injuries.
Additional studies about Moore’s medical history and toxicology tests are required, Fisher said.
Moore, 39, was last seen June 11 leaving a Planet Fitness gym in Lexington, and her body was found Wednesday not far from it, Lexington police have said.
Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green said at the time that media coverage of the missing persons case helped lead to the tip that ended with her body being found.
On June 12, police posted a missing person flyer on Facebook. Authorities said Moore had frequently visited Planet Fitness and had gone to the gym June 11.
After she left, Moore was seen walking toward a wooded area behind a home improvement store, police said in a news release.
Video also showed her walking through the parking lot of a grocery store, wearing the same clothing she had on at the gym.
What led up to her disappearance remains unclear. A week before she vanished, Moore was seen on a front door camera in front of an apartment, according to photos released by the police department.
John Moore, who is not related, and Sarah Burleson, who live in the apartment, told NBC affiliate WIS of Columbia that Moore seemed disoriented. They said that a delivery driver had dropped off food in front of their apartment and that Moore picked it up. When John Moore opened the door to take the food, she tried to go inside their apartment, WIS reported.
Burleson said that about an hour later, Moore was seen looking through packages outside another neighbor’s apartment. Asked what she was doing, Moore is alleged to have replied that she “had no idea.”
Burleson said Moore’s confusion worried her.
“If she was confused, like a week before she went missing, was she in that same kind of confusion state that night?” she told the station.
