Body found in SC river is 70-year-old Charlotte man. But how did he get there?
The body found last week in the Catawba River south of Rock Hill has been identified as a 70-year-old Charlotte man, and police in both Carolinas still don’t know how he ended up in the water.
The body of Mohammed Kargarian had no obvious trauma indicating foul play, Lancaster County Coroner Karla Knight-Deese said Tuesday in a statement. Law enforcement investigators have found no injuries or evidence to show the man had been the victim of violence, Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said in a statement Tuesday.
Officials with the coroner and police agencies are still seeking Kargarian’s family members.
“Our office is working with the community to find relatives,” Coroner Karla Knight-Deese told The Herald Tuesday.
A passerby driving over the bridge Aug. 6 called 911 after seeing the body.
Kargarian lived alone in an apartment in southeast Charlotte and was of Iranian descent, according to the sheriff. Officials have not released his address or any other information about how long he had lived in Charlotte.
A joint investigation by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and South Carolina sheriff’s deputies showed his last known activity was about a week before he was found dead floating in the river near the S.C. 9 bridge that separates Lancaster and Chester counties. The area is about 20 miles south of the state line with Charlotte.
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This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 11:22 AM.
