SUMTER, S.C. — Sumter County authorities have identified remains found in a submerged vehicle on Monday as a man missing since 2017.
Coroner Robbie Baker said that his office was able to positively identify the deceased as Tommy Brailey of Lee County through dental records with help from Dr. Thaddeus Vincent, DMD of Sumter.
Brailey was last seen leaving the now-closed Brewers Bar and Grill on Wesmark Boulevard in Sumter early one morning in August 2017. Police alerted the public, hoping to find him, and renewed their call for answers in 2020.
Those answers finally came on Monday when two local divers specializing in underwater search and rescue discovered a submerged car in the Rocky Bluff Swamp south of Crestwood High School.
Adam Brown and Jason Souhrada found the vehicle. Brown said he'd been working on the case for about two years and would check area ponds when he got free time.
“In this case, [the area] was so small that we just threw a big fishing magnet in to see if it would stick to anything," he said. "It immediately stuck on, and I just knew from experience that it was most likely a vehicle."
Brown said he confirmed the discovery by sending a drone into the water.