One year after the Cayce, South Carolina community was rocked by the murder of Faye Swetlik, Cayce Department of Public Safety officials faced another major scare.
Around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, 2-year-old Carlee Folk was abducted while sitting in her mother’s car outside of the Quality Inn on Charleston Highway in Cayce, South Carolina.
A man jumped in the Lexus sedan and drove away with the child and the dog inside the car, according to Cayce officials.
The video (below) released by police shows a panicked woman who immediately saw the abduction and chased after the car.
Police issued an AMBER alert in the area around 11 p.m. Tuesday. The car was spotted last night in the Pine Ridge area of Lexington County.
Around 12:30 a.m., Cayce police announced that Carlee Folk, the dog, and the car were found safe. Police have not released details about how and where they were found.
On Wednesday afternoon, Cayce officials said they arrested Shyheem Malik Phillips, who was identified as the person of interest in the crime.
The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the FBI, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.
Police are still looking for the suspect in this abduction. Police are asking the public to look closely at the man in the video (seen in photo below) and call (803)-794-0456 to submit tips.
Cayce Department of Public Safety Officials said they would release more details in the case when they can.
Faye Swetlik – Open Investigation
Carlee Folk was found safe exactly one year after 6-year-old Faye Swetlik, also of Cayce, was adducted and murdered.
Her neighbor Coty Scott Taylor —who didn’t have a criminal record — abducted and killed the 6-year-old within a few hours after she went missing last Monday, according to evidence found on both bodies and at his residence. Her cause of death was asphyxiation, which means he cut off her air supply.
30-year-old Coty Taylor’s body was found on his back porch shortly after they found Faye Swetlik in the woods near his home days after she was abducted.
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Both Swetlik and Taylor lived in the Churchill Heights neighborhood, located about two miles from the Columbia airport. Taylor’s death was ruled a suicide. Authorities said he cut his own throat.
FITSNews has submitted multiple FOIA requests in this case as there are still a lot of unanswered questions in the case.
As of Tuesday, Cayce officials told FITSNews the case is still open and they won’t be releasing more information in the case until it’s closed.
There was no AMBER alert issued in Faye Swetlik’s abduction.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has very specific criteria for activating an AMBER Alert, based on the Department of Justice guidelines. According to its website, an AMBER Alert is issued when an abduction is reported and the investigation reveals all of the following criteria:
- “The law enforcement agency believes that the child has been abducted: taken from their environment unlawfully, without authority of law, and without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian.
- The child is 17 years old or younger, and the law enforcement agency believes the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death; or if the individual is 18 years old or older, and the law enforcement agency believes the individual is at greater risk for immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death because the individual possesses a proven physical or mental disability.
- All other possibilities for the victim’s disappearance have been reasonably excluded.
- There is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the victim, suspect, or vehicle used in the abduction.
- The child’s name and other critical data have been entered into NCIC.”
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