MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Authorities have arrested a man in connection to a Marlboro County homicide and kidnapping case involving an 8-year-old girl and her late mother.
According to ABC 15 in Myrtle Beach, the Marlboro County Sheriff's Department has arrested Dewayne Jermaine Bright, 36, and charged him with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection to the death of Ella Lowery.
Lowery. 36. was found dead inside her home in Bennettsville Friday morning. Lowery's daughter, 8-year-old Iyana Lowery, is still missing, according to Marlboro's Sheriff's Department.
Officials say Bright was an acquaintance of Lowery's. Details on when and where Bright was arrested are not yet available.
Meanwhile, Marlboro County deputies, Bennettsville Police, DNR, SLED and the FBI are continuing their search for Iyana Lowery.
The search for Lowery began immediately after her mother's body was found Friday morning. Investigators believe the little girl was there when her mother was killed.
Officials say Bright has not told them anything about the child.
Investigators searched a home in Bennettsville Saturday. Officers removed several items from the home, but officials didn’t say what led them to search the house or if it turned up any new leads.
Iyana Lowery is described as 4-foot-2, weighing about 100 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information can call the Marlboro County Sheriff's Department at 843-479-5605, or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-Crime SC.