New details in case of Orangeburg County woman missing for months

HOLLY HILL, S.C. (WIS) - As the family of an Orangeburg County woman who went missing four months ago seeks answers, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office is releasing new information about the case.

Melissa Aguilar of Holly Hill was reported missing by an ex-boyfriend on Aug. 18, an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office report states.

Deputies said Friday in a statement that it put out a public call for leads after an “unconfirmed report of a possible sighting.”

Investigators believe she left a home on Fourwind Road, which is in an unincorporated area of Orangeburg County, after an argument with her ex.

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Aguilar’s youngest daughter, Shanna Brown, said the last four months have been excruciatingly painful. Brown said she used to speak with her mother every day and the fear of the unknown has caused her “anger, heartache, and worry.”

“It’s been really hard trying to juggle a job and put on a smile and act like nothing’s wrong when there’s so much wrong,” she said.

Brown described her last conversation with her mother on Aug. 17, the night before she was reported missing. She said Aguilar sounded upbeat and happy during that call. She was excited about her oldest daughter’s wedding in September, and the pair discussed Brown’s future wedding plans as well, Brown said.

Immediately following her disappearance, the sheriff’s office shared the information with the local newspaper, but did not put out a public release through its official channels, nor send the information to other news outlets, WIS-TV reported.

The Sheriff’s Office provided written answers to some questions Friday, but an investigator familiar with the case was not made available for an on-camera interview.

The agency did not provide any specifics about who reported the “unconfirmed report of a possible sighting” or when or where the sighting happened.

Family , however, say they fear Aguilar is gone.

“She would’ve come back by now, or at least called somebody,” Brown said.

Sarah Shipman, Aguilar’s sister, agrees and said she does not believe that her sibling would vanish without her belongings, and miss important family events.

There was a law enforcement presence at Aguilar’s last-known location, the place she was staying with her ex-boyfriend on Fourwind Road, throughout the morning on Friday.

The sheriff’s office said they could not provide details out of concern that doing so could “jeopardize the case.”

“I wish that they would’ve done a lot more than what they did in the beginning,” Brown said.

Brown implored the community to come forward with information, regardless of how inconsequential it may seem.

“If they see anything, they think they see anything, if they hear anything, that we just want to know, we just want to get an idea, a lead, anything so we could bring her home, alive or not,” she said.

The sheriff’s office declined to answer questions about whether there is a suspect or person of interest in the case, saying they “cannot comment on particulars of an investigation.”

The public is asked to the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office with tips, leads or information, at 803-534-3550.

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