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Patreon.com slash Southern Mysteries. On August 9th, 1976, around 620 in the morning, a man on his way to work in rural Sumter County, South Carolina discovered the bodies of a young man and young woman.

Both had been shot to death.

The discovery was the beginning of a mystery. had been shot to death.

The discovery was the beginning of a mystery

that's haunted Sumter County for more than four decades.

Welcome to Southern Mysteries, exploring the history and mysteries of the American South.

I'm your host, Shannon Ballard.

This is the mystery of the Sumter County Doze.

With an hours of the discovery of the bodies off Locklare Road in rural Sumter County,

authorities sent them to the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston

for autopsy.

At the crime scene, investigators covered every inch of the dirt road near the Florence County line

looking for any evidence. There was no car in the area and no identification on

either victim.

Investigators found a book of matches

...