The Richland County Coroner’s Office has identified a man found dead on Bluff Road in Columbia.
Coroner Naida Rutherford said 22-year-old Xavier Jackson died Tuesday. Columbia Police had said a day his body was found by workers by the side of the road in the 3400 block of Bluff Road.
That’s in an area about a mile south of the exit with I-77.
The coroner’s office did not give any indication of a cause of death.
The police had called the death “suspicious,” which is a term used when no one was present when a person died.
“We will continue working with the Columbia Police Department to fully investigate this incident.” Rutherford said in a statement.
Jackson, who had recently celebrated his 22nd birthday, had been working at a nearby McDonald’s for approximately a month and a half.
The last communication from him was a text to his girlfriend, indicating he had an argument with a customer and was walking home. Tragically, he never made it.
The discovery of his body was made by grass mowing crews who alerted the authorities. Initial investigations suggest Jackson may have been struck by a vehicle.
According to the family they were told by local authorities he suffered blunt force trauma to the head and body.
The family is seeking answers and accountability, with Ravenell expressing a plea for information. “I don’t know if it was an accident or intentional, but please, someone have a heart and make an anonymous phone call. He deserved that. We deserve that.”