Advertisement Body found near storage container where woman was held captive, coroner says Kala Brown found chained in storage container, Charlie Carver still missing Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Spartanburg County coroner said a body has been found near where a missing woman was being held captive. Cadaver dogs signaled Friday morning that there were possible human remains on the property where Kala Brown, 30, was found in a storage container, according to Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright. Coroner Rusty Clevenger said the body was found Friday afternoon. He has not identified the victim. Brown and her boyfriend, Charlie Carver, 32, were reported missing from Anderson on August 31. Wright said that when Brown was found, she told investigators that there might be bodies on the property. "She said that there are four people buried on this property. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but we will stay here as long as it takes to make sure that what she said is true or not true, Wright said. "We’re trying to make sure we don’t have a serial killer on our hands. (It) very possibly could be what we have." She was found Thursday on a 100-acre property on Wofford Road, where she had been held captive, "chained like a dog," since her disappearance, Wright said. He said a registered sex offender who is an Upstate realtor has been charged with kidnapping. Video: Sheriff gives update Friday morning | Video: Sheriff Chuck Wright’s news conference | More pictures from the scene | Kala Brown’s friend is grateful to see her again | Car belonging to Kala’s boyfriend found Deputies were searching the property when they heard Brown banging from inside a metal storage container. Wright said information from a sex crime investigator led them to the property. He said Brown told that investigators she had been held in the container for two months with a chain around her neck. The metal container is 30 feet long, 15 wide and 10 to 12 feet high, Wright said. He said Brown had been fed regularly, but she was "obviously traumatized." "It was pretty emotional, to say the least, when she was found -- especially when she was chained like a dog, Wright said. "She had a chain around her neck. It’s only by God’s grace we found that little girl alive." Wright said they found a number of weapons and ammunition on the property. Wright said Brown was taken to Spartanburg Regional Hospital where she was checked out and released Thursday night. Wright said when deputies found Brown, they notified other deputies who were positioned at Todd Kohlhepp’s home off Highway 290 in Moore, and Kohlhepp was taken into custody. Kohlhepp, 45, is listed as the owner of the Wofford Road property in Spartanburg County tax records. He identifies himself as a realtor for TK & A Real Estate (Todd Kohlhepp & Associates LLC). According to SLED records, Kohlhepp is a convicted sex offender who was added to the registry after being convicted of kidnapping in Arizona in 1987, when he was 16. Wright said Brown and Kohlhepp were acquainted, but investigators are still looking into the connection. Wright said Kohlepp is charged with kidnapping, and other charges are possible. "He’s currently incarcerated," Wright said. "We’re trying to get all this sorted out and figure out what we’re going to charge him with. One of the charges is kidnapping. It could be murder. It could be a number of things." Kohlhepp will appear before a Spartanburg County magistrate judge for a bond hearing at 2 p.m. Friday. Investigators are continuing to search for Carver. Previous stories: Couple disappears | Facebook posts deepen mystery Brown and Carver dated for several months and moved in together last summer, according to their parents. Carver was in the process of getting a divorce, the parents said. A friend of Brown’s told police that she had dinner with her on Aug. 29 at her apartment in Anderson Crossing Apartments. She said she spoke to Brown the next day, but after a text on the morning of Aug. 31, all communication ceased. Brown and Carver’s parents found the apartment the couple shared unlocked and Brown’s Pomeranian, Romeo, with no food or water. Police found Brown’s car in the parking lot of the complex. According to investigators, Brown’s cellphone service provider said there had been no activity on the phone for 48 hours, and they were unable to ping the phone. After the disappearance, there was no activity on Brown’s Facebook page, which her family said was unusual for her. The family also said that although Carver was not typically active on Facebook, his profile picture was changed Sept. 6, and comments were posted that were “uncharacteristic of ones typically made by Charlie.” Several postings on Carver’s Facebook page said the couple was fine and they simply left. The posts appeared after the couple was reported missing. Brown’s and Carver’s families said they believe that the Facebook account has been hacked. They said the photos that the person used were posted more than a year ago, and the wording doesn’t sound like Carver.