ST. MATTHEWS - A preliminary autopsy has given Calhoun County investigators a few more clues about skeletal remains discovered in a wooded area in the northwestern part of the county.

Investigators now believe they are the remains of a white female between 30 and 50 years old. She stood between 5 feet 3 inches tall and 5 feet 7 inches tall. She may have been blond.

The body seems to have been at the undisclosed Calhoun County location for more than a year.

Sheriff Thomas Summers said at around noon Saturday, a concerned citizen called authorities to report the grisly discovery in a location the sheriff would only describe as a "wooded area."

Investigators arrived at the location and found a set of remains that offered no clue as to the person's identity.

Some clothing items were found with the remains, Summers said, but that none that offered any significant contribution toward identifying the victim.

Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth said an autopsy may help investigators determine a cause of death, which remains unknown at this time. There was no obvious trauma to the skeletal remains indicative of a gunshot wound or severe assault, the coroner said.

When the preliminary autopsy report comes back on Monday, investigators will begin combing missing persons files in Calhoun County and the lower Midlands.

"We do have some missing persons files that we'll be looking at," Summers said. "That will be the first thing we go on. Of course, we have to determine the race and gender before we get started with that."

If the remains are suitable, a reconstructive model bearing the likeness of the victim is possible, the sheriff said.

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