A father and son fishing along the Great Pee Dee river found a body in the water around 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Marion County Coroner Jerry Richardson said.

Richardson said rescuers recovered the man's body about two miles from the Highway 76 bridge around 11:00 Saturday night, and it was then sent to MUSC in Charleston for an autopsy and identification.

Richardson said it could be mid-afternoon Sunday before he can name a cause of death and identification.

Richardson said the body was found near an abanoned vehicle belonging to Dale Hudson, a Conway man and true crimes author who was reported missing late last week. However, Richardson cannot confirm whether the body is that of Hudson's.

Horry County police took a missing persons report from Hudson's wife on Friday. Mrs. Hudson told police she had not heard from her husband since Wednesday morning. According to the police report, Hudson left for a business trip around 8:00 a.m. Wednesday and called his wife a few hours later to tell her he was pulling off the road to rest because of a migraine.

Hudson's unoccupied car was located Friday in a wooded area of Marion County, and the Horry County Police Department's Violent Crimes Section responded and initiated an investigation.

More updates will be posted as they become available.