HORRY COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Horry County Police say the number of missing persons cases filed with the department has nearly doubled since 2014.
Lt. Raul Denis, spokesman for the Horry County Police Department, tells News13 72 missing persons cases were reported to Horry County Police as of October 21. Denis says detectives did not suspect any foul play in 54 of those, while foul play was suspected in 18.
During the same time period in 2014, News13 learned 35 missing persons cases were reported to Horry County Police. The department dealt with 43 total missing persons cases in all of 2014, according to records provided by Denis.
We asked police why that number has increased so much. Denis says the department thinks there may be a slight increase “due to the increase in the number of residents and visitors; however, the increase may be heavily influenced by the fact that we classify some runaways as missing persons to err on the side of caution.”
One of the most recent high-profile disappearances involved 16-year-old Socastee teen McKenna Spindler, who disappeared on August 20.
“Could you tell me, um, where I would call to file a missing persons report?” Spindler’s mother, Karen, said in her initial call to 911. “My daughter has not come home from school and, um, somebody from a hotel just called to say her phone was found in the parking lot.”
Police found her alive on August 26 in Mt. Pleasant. Denis says Horry County Police used some of the same tactics to find Spindler as they use to find wanted criminals.
“They were checking everything,” he explained. “They were checking phone lines. They were checking social media sites. They were talking in interviews with friends and family members. We have to look at the totality of the circumstances. We have to look at everything that’s happened.”
Throughout the course of this story, Denis told News13 the cost of the Spindler case was estimated at nearly $11,000 just for the detective-hours involved. Denis said that figure did not take into account the associated expenses of training, equipment, gas and resources.
In addition to Horry County Police, the FBI, SLED, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Mt. Pleasant Police Department, Isle of Palms Police, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Horry County Solicitor’s Office, Charleston County Solicitor’s Office and Myrtle Beach Police played some type of role in the investigation.
“It was such a complicated case cause she was in a car moving around, and we knew that or had reason to believe that,” Denis said. “It basically involved a lot of different people from a lot of different agencies.”
Spindler was eventually charged with filing a false police report and was sentenced by a judge on October 2.
News13 wanted to know Spindler’s side of the story, and it led us to her parents house. The Spindler Family, however, declined our requests for an on-camera interview or written statement. Spindler’s mother, Karen, told News13 her family is focused on their daughter and getting things back on track.
The case, however, prompted many News13 viewers to ask us whether Spindler would be responsible for paying back what it cost to find her. Spindler was placed on a probationary sentence following her October court appearance.
We took your questions to 15th Judicial Circuit Senior Solicitor Caroline Fox. She released this statement to us:
“Because the Spindler case was handled in Juvenile Court, her sentence is not subject to public release. Therefore, I can only confirm that she spent some time in jail before being placed on probation and subjected to numerous conditions after the judge took into account her circumstances as well as the circumstances of the case. The statute requires that the primary goal of Juvenile Court is rehabilitation, not punishment. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm or deny whether she was ordered to pay restitution, or if so, how much she was ordered to pay.”
Horry County Police expects the total number of missing persons cases for 2015 to rise in the last two months of the year, according to Denis. Police, however, say no circumstances should keep you from reporting a loved one missing. Denis says these cases are taken very seriously and investigated to the fullest extent.
“If you need to call, I’d say call and when we come, be as sincere and forthright as you can be and help us help you get to the bottom of where your loved one’s at,” Denis said.
