LOCAL

Corner Lake/Barnwell Co. kidnapping case continues with latest arrest; SLED shares details

Hampton County man now fourth suspect in custody

Michael M. DeWitt, Jr.
Bluffton Today
An incident involving an injured woman found zip-tied at Jasper County's Corner Lake Boat Landing, a public access to the Coosawhatchie River and rural, youth hang-out spot, was the launching point of an ongoing, multi-county kidnapping investigation that has now resulted in four arrests, with two suspects taken into custody across state lines.

State police now have a fourth suspect in custody and charged in connection with a high-profile multi-county kidnapping case in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Last week the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced that on Tuesday, May 21, it had charged Marquis Antwan Smith, 42, of Varnville, with Accessory after the Fact to Kidnapping in connection with an April 3 incident in which a female victim was kidnapped from Barnwell County and later found at Corner Lake boat landing in Jasper County.

SLED was requested by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office to assist with the investigation on April 3, then take the lead in the investigation on April 8, after the woman was found unconscious and injured at Corner Lake, an isolated public boat landing on the Coosawhatchie River. The woman was transported to the hospital for treatment, then later released.

The victim was found beaten and partially clothed, according to some media reports, with her hands bound by "zip ties," and police, in an effort to protect the victim and the investigation, issued statements saying that the woman's identity was still unknown — all facts which sparked media attention from around the state.

An incident involving an injured woman found zip-tied at Jasper County's Corner Lake Boat Landing, a public access to the Coosawhatchie River and rural, youth hang-out spot, was the launching point of an ongoing, multi-county kidnapping investigation that has resulted in multiple arrest.

SLED, working with law enforcement in Jasper, Hampton and Barnwell counties, determined that the woman was kidnapped in Barnwell County and in less than two weeks arrested three suspects.

Kidnapping warrants were obtained by the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office for Adrienne Burgen Ginn, 31, Kaila Terria Bostick, 34, and Jamaal Terrell Riley, 30, on April 3.

Ginn was arrested on April 6 in Hampton County by the South Carolina Highway Patrol for Driving Under Suspension – 2nd Offense.

Bostick and Riley were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force in Indiana on Thursday, April 11.

According to SLED arrest warrants, the fourth suspect, Smith, allegedly "had knowledge" that Bostick and Riley were committing the crimes of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, kidnapping, and attempted armed robbery "as the offenses were transpiring."

Smith also allegedly assisted Bostick and Riley in fleeing the area, states the warrants, by transporting them to the Augusta International Airport in Augusta, Georgia, where he then attempted to assist them in renting a car.

Smith was booked into the Hampton County Detention Center.All subjects are now in custody in South Carolina.

SLED has not publicly identified the victim.

SLED’s investigation is active and ongoing, and the case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.