WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsConway author's death still a mystery

Conway author's death still a mystery

By Trey Paul - bio | email

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) -  Friends and family of local true crime author William Dale Hudson are still waiting to find out how he died.

"The best I can do is if he didn't actually have a stroke or something like that that caused him to fall in the water," said Dr. Billy Hills, a psychology professor at Coastal Carolina University and close friend of Hudson. "Maybe it was a tragic accident."

Hills taught Hudson psychology before the two went on to write two books together.

"He was great," Hills recalled. "He was very energetic. He was very upbeat and positive."

Horry County Police detectives say two fisherman found Hudson's body Saturday night in the Pee Dee River. Investigators say Hudson last spoke to his wife around 11 a.m. Wednesday when he told her he had a migraine and was pulling over to rest. Hudson told her he would call her to let him know where he was, but never did.

"So he must have gotten out of his car, locked his car, put his keys in his pocket, assuming he would come back to his car," Hills said.

Investigators found the car on Friday in a wooded area in Marion County.

"He may have slipped and fallen in the water," Hills suggested. "He was not thinking clearly, obviously, if he has a migraine."

The Marion County Coroner has ruled out foul play, but he hasn't said whether he's investigating the death as an accident or a suicide.

"I don't think he's a person that would have committed suicide," Hills said. "I don't see it."

The coroner is now waiting on toxicology tests to determine a further cause and manner of death.

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