Lancaster man’s body found at SC motel; death termed ‘suspicious’

Georgetown County authorities are investigating a suspicious death after a man’s body was discovered Thursday morning at a Murrells Inlet motel.

The deceased has been identified as Gary Kyle Smith, 37, of Lancaster, who died shortly after 12 a.m. on Thursday, according to a release from coroner Kenneth Johnson. The preliminary autopsy showed no signs of trauma, but a cause of death is still pending.

Police sectioned off part of the Brookwood Inn off Highway 17 Business in Murrells Inlet for hours while they investigated Thursday after the dead body was found in one of the rooms on the property.

Police have ruled the incident as a “suspicious death,” and expect to learn more about what happened pending the results of an autopsy, performed Thursday afternoon at MUSC, Lt. Neil Johnson with Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities are treating the incident as a crime scene until more could be learned about how the man died, but were not ruling it as a homicide early Thursday afternoon.

More information will be provided as soon as it is released. Please check back for story updates.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Lancaster man’s body found at SC motel; death termed ‘suspicious’."