‘No foul play’ in death of Rock Hill man whose body was found in woods

There was “no foul play” in the death of a Rock Hill man found dead near woods in a neighborhood near an elementary school, officials said.

The body of Brett Sullivan, 22, was found Saturday, Sept. 22, near West Main Street, after he had been missing for three days, police and coroner officials said.

Sullivan had been missing since Sept. 19, police said.

The case remains open.

Police and coroner officials said an autopsy showed Sullivan did not have physical injuries.

“There are no traumatic injuries identified and no indications of foul play,” York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said in a statement Friday.

Rock Hill Police Department Capt. Brent Allmon, who supervises the detective division, said “there is no public safety issue or concern” in Sullivan’s death.

“We have received questions from the community about whether there are safety concerns, and we do not believe there is any concern for safety of the community connected to this case,” Allmon said Friday.

Allmon declined to release any other information.

An autopsy was conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, but no cause of death has been released.

Toxicology and other tests are pending, Allmon said.

Sullivan was a graduate of Northwestern High School and attended the University of South Carolina, at both the Aiken and Columbia campuses, family said in an obituary from Greene Funeral Home, published Friday in The Herald.

Sullivan’s body was found around 8 a.m. Sept. 22 in a yard on Raven Drive, near York Road Elementary School, off West Main Street, police and coroner officials said.

Rock Hill police had posted pleas for information about Sullivan after he was missing. He was last seen Sept 19, at a Burger King near Northwestern High School.

A person who lives on Raven Drive called police Sept. 22 to say that his fence was broken and his dog was barking near the fence.

Police found Sullivan’s body behind the fence, a police report states. The body was face down in a wooded area behind the fence, police said in the incident report.

Sullivan’s family has declined requests for interviews.

A visitation for friends of Sullivan was Friday at Greene Funeral Home, Northwest Chapel, in Rock Hill.

Rock Hill police attended the service Friday and are continuing to “serve the family” said Allmon.

A Gofundme page that was set up for the Sullivan family has raised more than $12,000.

This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 10:14 AM.