Authorities said last Wednesday that a person whose body was discovered at a Clinton park was found unresponsive, lying on the ground.
A City statement on Feb. 8 said, “The City of Clinton Police Department was dispatched to check on a possible medical issue involving an unresponsive male found lying on the ground. Officers responded and located the deceased male. SLED Crime Scene Unit was contacted to assist the police department with the investigation. This appears to be an isolated incident and no known threat to the public. The investigation is ongoing, and the department will provide any developments at a later time.”
After the initial investigation, Police took down crime tape and vehicles left the scene about 4:45 pm. There did not seem to be a threat to the public.
The park just recently received a new city-installed playground. It had basketball hoops but these have been taken down, and now there is just a concrete slab.
Josh & Ella Savage Park is on Willard Road, an extension of North Broad Street and the Hwys 72 & 56 route to I-26, near a Family Dollar and Clinton Tire, close to the intersection with Musgrove Street. The Clinton Police-Fire Station is about 200 yards away, between North Broad and Musgrove streets.
Clinton Fire personnel were seen with a chainsaw coming back from a wooded area on the park’s boundary. At one point, several vehicles including two that looked like SLED technicians’ trucks were in the park’s semi-circular driveway, and at least three Clinton Police vehicles were on the park’s perimeter, as bystanders watched from the Family Dollar parking lot.
The name, age and place of residence of the person whose body was found was not immediately released from authorities. At the Jan. 9 City Council meeting, council member Shirley Jenkins asked about a homeless shelter, especially during cold winter nights; she was told the police department could be opened for homeless people during severe cold. It was not known if the deceased person was homeless.
