EXCLUSIVE: SLED documents detail circumstances around Sheridan Wahl’s disappearance, death

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - On the afternoon of June 3, 2022, WMBF News obtained documents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division from a Freedom of Information Act Request regarding the death of 21-year-old Sheridan Wahl.

These documents provide more details on the investigation and the events that led to her disappearance and death.

Officials said Wahl, who was originally from Florida, visited Myrtle Beach to visit her father last September.

A day after she was reported missing, she was found dead behind a Florence County fire station, located around 45 miles away from Myrtle Beach.

12th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements later declined to pursue charges in the case, and no manner of death was determined. A toxicology report also showed nothing in her bloodstream that was of any concern, according to Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken.

WMBF has requested the referenced attachments, which are audio and video interviews, photos, and surveillance video from SLED. We will share those when we receive them.

The following chronological narrative has been edited for brevity, but the associated documents can be read in full at the bottom of this article.

SEPT. 18, 2021

Wahl’s mother later told SLED agents that Sheridan moved in with her in December 2020 following a bad relationship. In the weeks leading up to her disappearance and death, her mother said Sheridan seemed “to be losing track of time, such as when to go to work or when she needed to be at a certain location.”

Wahl then told her mother that she was moving and began packing her belongings. She seemed happy, but according to her mother she was “not in her normal state of mind.” Wahl also told her mother she was going to visit her father, and that she’d be there in about 20 minutes.

Her mother also said Wahl talked about time travel and how she could get around faster, adding that she talked like she was “invincible.”

Wahl’s father told SLED agents that she called him at around 4 p.m. and said she was coming to Myrtle Beach.

He said that his daughter was in Tampa, Florida, but that she told him she’d be there “in thirty minutes” when they spoke again at around 9:25 p.m.

Wahl told her father that she was a “witch” and was in a “time vortex,” also claiming she could time travel.

He talked to her again at 10:26 p.m., and she was in Orlando. After telling her she was going the wrong way, Wahl again stated she was a witch, that time was constant and that she’d see him in ten minutes.

SEPT. 19, 2021

Sheridan sent her father a text at 3:41 a.m. and said she was getting a hotel but didn’t say where.

Sheridan’s father stated that he talked to his daughter again at 10:43 a.m., and she told him she’d meet him at Back Yard Sports Bar and Grill in Myrtle Beach around two hours later. She never showed up, and he told SLED agents that this was the last time he heard from his daughter.

He also said he had never heard his daughter talk that way before, and never knew of her using any “hard drugs.”

When she was in Myrtle Beach, Wahl’s mother said she was going to rent a scooter and ride around before seeing her father. When her mother told her she should come home, Wahl then left Myrtle Beach, but the two did speak after she left. Her mother believes Sheridan’s phone must have died because communication stopped not long after she left Myrtle Beach.

Sheridan’s mother later filed a police report with the Myrtle Beach Police Department, and her father stated he wasn’t aware of anyone who would want to harm his daughter.

He stated that he knew someone who lived in Myrtle Beach that saw Sheridan on Sept. 19 and stopped to speak with her.

SLED agents also talked to a Myrtle Beach man who was a former neighbor of Wahl’s in Florida and knew her for over two years. He said he had around three missed calls the morning of Sept. 19 from Wahl that came in at around 4 a.m. He sent her a text asking what was going on, and she told him she was on the way to Myrtle Beach.

When he woke up again a couple of hours later, he called her back. He said Sheridan told him she was getting away from her mother because she was “shocking her brain.” She also told him she had a “spiritual advisor” with her. She wanted to meet him at a scooter store, and she called him later to meet her at the store, later identified as Scooter Rental of Myrtle Beach.

He stated that Sheridan “looked lost” and that she looked different when he saw her. He also noticed she didn’t have any shoes on. He bought her breakfast at a nearby restaurant.

Sheridan then said she wanted to buy a scooter instead. When they got to the store, she asked if he could hear her, but claimed she didn’t say anything. “Oh, my spiritual advisor would not let it come out,” Sheridan replied. Similar instances happened four times while they were together.

An employee of the business who talked to SLED described Sheridan as “a little spacey” and said she was talking to everyone in the store. She initially came in by herself, but later entered with her former neighbor, who she met up with. The employee took a picture of her because she was dancing.

The employee told SLED that Sheridan left the store with her former neighbor, while her former neighbor claimed she left by herself. The employee said the two got into a dark-colored truck and drove away at around 11 a.m.

Her former neighbor then realized the spiritual advisor was imaginary. Sheridan told him that her advisor had been “found in a bathtub with her throat cut by a male” and that the advisor helped her get to Myrtle Beach “in a vortex.” She claimed it only took an hour to get to Myrtle Beach from Tampa.

Sheridan then received a FaceTime call from her mother and walked away before hanging up. Her mother texted Sheridan around 45 minutes later, and Wahl told her former neighbor that her mother was having a heart attack and that she had to get back to her.

He remembered that she left at 12:15 p.m. and he didn’t go anywhere with her. He called her again at around 1 p.m. and she told him she was going to her mother before hanging up. He told SLED that he had never seen her act like that before, adding that she was “dancing around and acting weird.”

FCSO responded to a vehicle fire on Highway 378 and Keith Lane. The car came back as being related to Wahl after a check of the Vehicle Identification Number.

A man interviewed by SLED agents stated that he saw smoke near Union School Road and believed there was a fire in the area. He said that a woman, later identified as Wahl, walked toward him stating she was “a goddess, trying to save the world” before asking for a ride to Myrtle Beach. He was unaware of who Wahl was.

He told her that he had somewhere to be, but he could take her toward Kingsburg to get her closer to the beach. The two got into a white Toyota Tacoma and turned onto Highway 378. The man told agents that Wahl was talking normally before saying “stuff is going to get kind of crazy” and telling him she was a “goddess” and a “witch.”

He also told agents that Wahl said she could talk to the radio, had walked through fire and “was trying to save the world.” He didn’t notice any marks on Wahl.

The man pulled over at the HSFFD after being on the highway for a few minutes. Wahl exited the truck and left her phone, charger and a Toyota key in his truck. He told her not to forget her things, and she went back for them before saying “I can’t die, watch this.”

That’s when the man said Wahl walked into moving traffic across Highway 378. The man attempted to try and get vehicles to slow down.

Meanwhile, a fireman with the HSFFD told SLED he saw Wahl get out of the passenger’s side of the Tacoma and walk onto the highway. The fireman also did not know who Wahl was but matched the previous man’s description of her appearance.

Wahl then walked in front of his truck and he swerved to keep from hitting her. The fireman told SLED that she smiled at him after he swerved and that she was “acting crazy.” Other vehicles had to slow down to keep from hitting her.

He then saw Wahl through his rearview mirror run to the doors of the fire department, holding a cell phone. The aforementioned truck pulled back onto the highway and passed him. He told SLED that he saw her running behind the fire department.

The man in the Tacoma told SLED he looked in the mirror and saw her walk back onto the highway as he drove away. He did not see her again and returned home.

The fireman said he went to his mother’s house, which is where he was leaving from to begin with, and told her to lock her doors. He then returned home and provided information on the man in the Tacoma.

SLED also obtained surveillance footage from a nearby home along Highway 378 that appeared to show Sheridan’s vehicle.

At around 2:31 p.m. that footage shows a vehicle matching hers passing from left to right in the camera view before slowing down. It then turned off the highway onto a dirt driveway across the street. It’s at this time that tires can only be seen in the camera’s view.

Around 20 minutes later a person is seen walking out of the field next to the dirt driveway. The person couldn’t be identified on the footage due to distance.

Another set of footage from a nearby business also showed a vehicle matching the description of Sheridan’s on Highway 378. No occupants were visible.

SEPT. 20, 2021

A day after the missing person report was filed, the MBPD asked SLED to investigate Wahl’s disappearance.

Meanwhile, a deputy fire chief at the HSFFD told SLED he saw what appeared to be trash near the training tower that morning, but didn’t look further into it.

Sheridan’s father said he was informed by Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye that day that his daughter’s car had been found burned along Highway 378.

SEPT. 21, 2021

A different HSFFD firefighter told SLED that they saw what appeared to be trash before realizing it was a hat as he got closer. He then found Wahl face-down on the ground and went to tell the deputy chief.

The two put on gloves and went to check on her, finding that she didn’t have a pulse and appeared purple. Both said it was apparent she had been there for some time.

A Florence County deputy later arrived and took over the scene. Florence County Sheriff T.J. Joye then requested SLED retain the investigation into Wahl’s death.

Joye then called Wahl’s father to tell him they found a body believed to be his daughter. A Florence County deputy coroner later confirmed her identity.

SEPT. 24, 2021

An autopsy of Sheridan’s body is performed, with the cause of death listed as “multiple blunt force injuries due to a fall.” The manner of death was undetermined.

APRIL 12, 2022

12th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements sent a letter to SLED stating that he would not pursue charges in connection with Wahl’s death.

Clements said he found “no prosecutorial merit to this case” adding that there was no evidence of foul play.

You can read each document in full below:

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