What’s next in the North Augusta case of missing woman?

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Now that authorities have exhausted their search efforts for a woman missing after a North Augusta wreck, what’s next?

Officers searched the area of Gregory Lake for two days after Susan Rhodes was involved in a car accident and wandered off into the woods, apparently suffering a medical problem.

They found her footprints near a creek, and a surveillance camera recorded her walking through someone’s yard after the crash, but otherwise there’s been no sign of her despite the use of a heat-detecting helicopter and drones. Authorities also used tracking dogs and teams of officers in a grid formation to search the woods where she’d last been seen.

Clay Swann with the North Augusta Department of Public Safety said the search options have been exhausted.

“We have found no evidence leading to her location in that area,” he said.

He said Friday that authorities’ main efforts for the day would be following up on leads. If the need arises to search an area, they will make that transition, he said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies began searching for Susan Rhodes around 4 p.m. Wednesday after she’d last been seen around 1:45.

Her family have not had any with Rhodes.

Fliers have been posted around North Augusta, and the community is coming together to help.

That includes people like Jessica Howard, who lives near the search area and reached out to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to ask how she could help.

”They directed me to North Augusta Public Safety, and North Augusta told me that I could go out into the rest of the neighboring neighborhoods to see if I could help locate her,” she said.

Authorities say Rhodes was involved in a car crash on Gregory Lake Road at the entrance to Gregory Landing subdivision.

Rhodes’ car left the roadway and went into a ditch, according to officers. She then got out and wandered off into the woods.

Officials say Rhodes was last seen going through a yard in the 2200 block of Gregory Lake Road.

A witness told officers that Rhodes appeared to be disoriented and possibly suffering from some type of medical issue.

She was wearing a red shirt, black shoes, a hat and had an arm in a sling. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall.

Officials’ main concern is a nearby creek, which has risen to waist-deep due to recent rainfall. They said the area is heavily wooded, and there are many downed trees from Hurricane Helene.

“It’s so wooded. It’s nothing but kudzu and trees and thick brush and blackberry bushes. And so she’s out here. It’s treacherous out here,” said Howard.

“She was involved in a vehicle accident. And so, that’s disorienting as it is. And then, to pile on top of the medical concerns, it’s very concerning that she’s out here by herself and could possibly be hurt. I’m hoping that she’s found and that she’s OK, and that she can be returned back to her family,” said Howard.

Officials tell News 12 they have no reason to believe Rhodes is a threat to the community and that they believe this is a medical episode she had.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Several agencies got involved in the search.

The North Augusta Department of Public Safety got assistance from the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and the Aiken County Department of Public Safety, as well as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The North Augusta Department of Public Safety also reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for drone assistance.

If you locate or see Rhodes, call 803-441-4200.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.