Body found on Goat Island
Posted: 04.21.2009 at 3:05 PM
Coast Guard assisted in the recovery of the body Tuesday afternoon.
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UPDATE 4:51PM:  Coroner identifies man found on Goat Island

It appears 30-year-old Douglas Mathew Mercer II drowned and was washed ashore on Goat Island, Georgetown County Coroner Kenney Johnson said Tuesday afternoon.

Around 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, a kayaker discovered Mercer's body on the banks of Goat Island, a tiny island across from downtown Georgetown.

Georgetown police and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene.

Johnson thinks the body was in the water for three to five days and said there were no obvious signs of injury.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center to determine the cause of death.

The original story from earlier Tuesday is below.

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Tuesday afternoon, a kayaker discovered the body of a white man who washed ashore on Goat Island in Georgetown.

Goat Island sits across the water from Front Street.

Cpt. Nelson Brown with the Georgetown Police Department says they do know who the man is, but they are not releasing the identity at this time.

Brown says there are no obvious signs of trauma, but an autopsy will be done.

We have a call in to the Georgetown County Coroner, Kenny Johnson. Look for more details soon right here at www.CarolinaLive.com and tonight at 6 on NewsChannel 15.