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Coroner: Could be days before ruling on Lancaster Co. man's death

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office confirmed that the body found in a pond Saturday morning was that of a missing Lancaster County man.

Jerell White, 22, was last seen at a Fourth of July party on Pleasant Road. Deputies believe there was some kind of fight at the party and White left, walking down the road.

Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, said in a Facebook post that White was "a bright and talented young man."

White is listed as a rising sophomore at Benedict College.

(Jerell White)

White's family said finding his body was the end to an exhaustingly long search through thick wooded areas.

In surveillance video obtained Friday by Channel 9, White is seen walking down a neighbor's driveway, climbing over a fence and falling to the ground on the other side. He gets up and stumbles out of the view of the camera.

The sheriff said the pond is near the fence where White was last seen.

White’s family thinks he was running from somebody after an altercation at the July 4 party he attended.

"My nephew didn't bother anybody,” Dianne Heath, White's aunt, said. “He was a sweet young man. He was even telling me what he was going to do for his future, but look, it was cut so short."

(LANCASTER SURVEILLANCE: Video shows missing man scaling fence)

White's cellphone was found on the ground where he scaled the fence and his broken eyeglasses were found in the driveway of the house that hosted the party.

Members of the family said they felt frustrated having to wait for news from the search crews.

"We feel helpless. We want to do something. Just sitting here waiting for leads from them, it's frustrating," said Shonda Curry, White's sister.

White was discovered by family members who were wondering how authorities missed that spot in the search.

Crews searched another nearby pond using sonar. They didn't do the same for the pond where White was found.

Sheriff's Office officials said they had no indication he'd gone in that direction. They still walked around that area in search for White.

[ARTICLE: Family of missing Lancaster Co. man fears he's in trouble]

A small group gathered just yards away from the pond where White's body was found.

"Right now, our heart is really broken. We are hurting," Heath said. "I'm standing here right now while they try to pull him out of a pond. Ya'll can imagine what I feel."

White played football and ran track at Lancaster High School. He was very active in his church, playing a variety of instruments in a worship band and singing.

Search crews spent three days in the air, on foot and on four-wheelers to get into deeply wooded areas. The crew included Lancaster County sheriff's deputies, city and county firefighters, and emergency medical services crews.

White's family wanted to join in and see other officers put on the search.

Deputies said due to liability and private property all around the search area, they couldn't allow family members to assist in the search.

Coroner's office officials said it could take days before they've ruled a cause of death.

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