Couple Faces New Charges in SC Student's Disappearance
Heather Elvis, 20, has been missing since December.
Feb. 24, 2014— -- A South Carolina husband and wife suspected in the mysterious December disappearance of a cosmetology student now face kidnapping charges.
Sidney and Tammy Moorer were charged with kidnapping on Sunday, according to the Horry County Sheriff’s Office. No bail has been set.
The couple was arrested two days earlier on indecent exposure and obstructing justice charges in the Dec. 18 disappearance of Heather Elvis, 20, who vanished after a date. There’s no word as to what triggered the additional charges.
Elvis’ car was found abandoned at a local boat landing building. Police believe she drove there willingly but have no idea why.
Heather’s parents, Terry and Debbie Elvis, have had difficulty comprehending their daughter’s disappearance.
“Her car was parked where it shouldn’t be, she was nowhere to be found, it was locked and no one was answering her phone,” Terry Elvis said. “Of course, we wanted to pull our hair out.”
After his daughter went missing, Terry Elvis checked Heather’s cell phone records. One number appeared multiple times before her disappearance – Sidney Moorer’s number, Elvis said. Moorer and Heather Elvis may have had a romantic relationship, according to investigators.
Sidney Moorer’s attorney T. Kirk Truslow is calling the case a rush to judgment.
“Sidney has no connection to, nor knowledge of, any facts surrounding the disappearance of Heather Elvis,” Truslow said in a statement. “I firmly believe Sidney will be completely exonerated.”
Tammy Moorer is hoping to clear her name as well.
“To the best of my knowledge, Tammy does not know Heather Elvis at all,” said defense attorney Greg McCollum, who’s representing Tammy Moorer. “I don’t think they’ve ever met.”
The Moorers’ three children are now living with relatives.
For Terry Elvis, the new charges are a small victory. But he remains focused on his daughter’s safety.
“If Heather is safe and unharmed, I don’t care what they do to them,” he said. “They can turn [the Moorers] loose. I really don’t care.”