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Bodies of 2 missing teens found in submerged car in SC river

Two bodies found in a submerged car in a South Carolina river are those of two North Carolina teenagers who went missing two weeks ago after telling friends they were driving to the beach, authorities said.

Kershaw County, S.C., authorities on Monday confirmed the bodies found Sunday afternoon in a car in the Wateree River off Interstate 20 were those of Jake Zigler, 18 and Ray Pierce, 17, the Charlotte Observer reported

Authorities said it appeared that the car, a Pontiac G-6, veered across the median and went down an embankment into the dark water of the river.

“They ran off the bridge or just in front of the bridge,” said Catawba, N.C., Sheriff Coy Reid told the newspaper.

An autopsy was scheduled Monday to determine the cause of death.

Zigler and Pierce, seniors at Bandys High School in Catawba County, were last seen alive in the early morning of Oct. 13, when they left a party near Sherrills Ford, N.C., and told friends they were driving to Myrtle Beach to see the sunrise, according to the Observer.

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The last known contact the teens had with anyone was through a text message to a friend at 2:44 a.m. on Oct. 13.

A  search team from the CUE Center for Missing Persons spotted the bumper of the missing teen’s car on Sunday afternoon on an embankment leading down to the Wateree River, according to WCNC-TV.

Crews then fund the car submerged in the water between two bridges, WCNC reported.

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