Fund Set Up To Pay For Funeral Of 21-Year-Old USF Student Found Dead In North Carolina

TAMPA, FL — Autopsy results conducted Friday on the body of missing University of South Florida student Sheridan Wahl are inconclusive.

That is the word from Florence County, South Carolina, coroner Keith von Lutcken in an email Monday.

“The manner and cause of death in the Sheridan Wahl case is pending additional postmortem studies and investigation at this time,” von Lutcken said.

The 21-year-old Tampa college student was found dead Sept. 21 behind a training tower at the Hannah-Salem-Friendfield Fire Department in Pamplico, South Carolina, about 10 miles from where authorities discovered her burned-out burgundy Toyota two days earlier.

Wahl had driven from Tampa to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to visit her father, who lives in Myrtle Beach, but her father said she never arrived at his house.

Her mother, Kelly DeArment Wahl of Tampa, said she spoke to her daughter around 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, using FaceTime. Her daughter was trying to rent a scooter on South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach but told her mother the scooter rental company wouldn't rent to her because she wasn't wearing shoes.

She told her mother she wanted to drive the nine hours back to Tampa, but her mother suggested she spend the night at a hotel in Myrtle Beach and start fresh in the morning.

That was the last time Kelly DeArment heard from her daughter. All attempts to contact her went to voicemail.

"We are heartbroken beyond belief to share the news that our beloved Sheridan Lynne Wahl has passed," Kelly Wahl posted on Facebook the day after learning of her daughter's death. "Sheridan was our cherished and loving daughter, sister, niece and friend. She will be missed more than words can ever express."

Wahl's best friend and roommate, Elizabeth Echenique, who also attends USF, described Sheridan Wahl as "an amazing musician" who often played the guitar for her friends.

"She loved fashion and was very healthy. She was spontaneous and knew how to make you laugh. A person with a pure heart of gold, always trying to make her friends and family feel loved and accepted," Echenique said. "So, what happened to this kind, loving, talented and beautiful young woman?"

Echenique has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help bury her friend. To date, $6,427 has been donated.

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