Personal Trainer Found Dead in Woods After Vanishing in Haunting Security Footage

A South Carolina personal trainer who vanished after leaving the gym has been found dead in the woods nearly a week later.

Elena Katherine Moore, 39, was reported missing on Friday, June 12, one day after she was last seen leaving a Planet Fitness in Lexington, South Carolina.

After a six-day search, police and fire officials found a woman’s body on Wednesday, June 17, in a wooded area near North Lake Drive and Old Cherokee Road. Authorities said the body matched the clothing description of Moore, though the coroner’s office had not yet made a positive identification.

Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green said officers searched the area after receiving a tip about a possible sighting nearby.

“At approximately 2:48 p.m. we found an unidentified body that fits the clothing description of our missing person,” Green said during a press briefing. “We are still waiting on the coroner to identify her.”

The Lexington County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that the body of a woman matching Moore’s clothing description had been found.

“No positive identification has been made as of this time,” the coroner’s office said. “We will await positive identification before any further information is released. No cause of death has been determined.”

The discovery brought a tragic turn to the search for Moore, which involved multiple agencies and the use of a drone.

Police said Moore worked as a personal trainer at Wolf’s Fitness Center in Lexington and regularly went to Planet Fitness on Whiteford Way. Authorities said she signed in at Planet Fitness around 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, June 11.

She was later seen on surveillance footage at about 9:17 p.m. in a parking lot near Publix, walking toward Old Cherokee Road after leaving the gym.

At the time, police said she appeared to be wearing an olive-green zip-up hoodie and black workout pants, similar to what she wore at Planet Fitness.

Investigators also said Moore had reportedly been acting unusually before her disappearance. Authorities pointed to her abrupt absence and a change in her social media activity, according to ABC News.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has been asked to investigate the death.

Police have not said whether foul play is suspected. The cause of death has not yet been released as investigators continue working to determine what happened.