PLYMOUTH – A body recovered from an icy pond off of Plymouth-Springmill Road on Sunday morning has been identified.
According to Bob Ball, investigator with the Richland County Coroner, the body has been identified as 61-year-old April Puckett from the Shiloh area. Puckett was pronounced dead at 11:47 a.m. on Sunday, and her body will be sent to Montgomery County for an autopsy.
Ball stated due to the frozen water, Puckett’s official cause of death is pending, though he noted he does not suspect foul play.
“I don’t know what happened to her, I don’t know if it was a medical event,” Ball said. “We’ll find that out in the autopsy.”
Puckett was the driver of a 2017 Hyundai that drove straight into a pond on private property in the 7600 block of Plymouth-Springmill Road, according to Maj. Joe Masi with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle drove into the pond sometime overnight, and was discovered on Sunday morning.
Masi stated the resident where the incident took place heard a noise during the night, but looked out the window and didn’t see anything. The resident went outside on Sunday morning and saw where vehicle tracks had traveled across his driveway and continuing onto his property.
“He investigated and saw where the (tire) tracks went into the pond, but no footprints came from the pond,” Masi said. “By then, the pond had iced over.”
Ball noted Puckett’s vehicle had been completely submerged into the pond overnight. The Richland County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Shelby Fire and Police Departments responded to the scene after 8 a.m. on Sunday.
“We were able to verify there was a vehicle underneath the water,” Masi said. “We then made arrangements to have the dive team go in and hook up to the vehicle, and pull the vehicle out with a tow truck. We then discovered there was a body inside.”
Masi does not believe road conditions were the cause of the accident.
“Based on our assessment, we believe the driver just got disoriented,” Masi said. “They were on the roadway, and drove into the pond.”
