Man Charged With Kidnapping, Murder Of Missing South Carolina Mom Whose SUV Was Found In Pond
Emanuel Bedford, 29, had been charged with the kidnapping and murder of Deidre Reid, who went missing in September 2021.
Charges against a Georgia man accused in the death of a missing South Carolina mother whose vehicle was found submerged in a pond have been upgraded to murder, according to reports.
Emanuel Bedford, 29, has been indicted on murder and kidnapping charges by a Chesterfield County grand jury in the September disappearance of Deidre Annette Reid, prosecutors said. He was arrested in Georgia in October after being charged with grand larceny and obstruction of justice by the state of South Carolina in relation to the case.
Reid, 41, vanished from Pageland, South Carolina on Sept. 3, 2021. Before disappearing, she called family while driving Bedford — the father of her youngest child — to a Greyhound bus station 45 miles north in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Investigators, however, suspect that the Bedford never boarded a bus at the station, WBTV reported. In court in February, prosecutors told a judge that he was spotted on a surveillance video at a York County, South Carolina gas station — about 35 miles west of Charlotte — driving Reid's car on the day of her disappearance, according to Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC.
Reid, they said, was not seen with him on the video.
Authorities say that that, when she disappeared, Reid was likely driving her gray 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe, which had a decorative New York Giants front plate; that was the car Bedford was spotted in later that day. The vehicle was found partially submerged in a pond in Aiken County, South Carolina — 125 miles southwest of Pageland, near the Georgia border — two days after Reid's disappearance, and a significant amount of blood was found on the SUV’s passenger seat. The location is just 11 miles from Bedford’s home.
Part of the Chevrolet’s bumper was later found on land owned by Bedford’s family in Burke County, Georgia, about 45 miles southwest of the pond where the rest of the vehicle was found.
The whereabouts of Reid’s possible remains are unknown. Officials, however, say they are confident she’s dead.
“Based on the circumstance and the evidence that’s been collected up to this point, unfortunately, it’s pretty obvious that Mrs. Reid is no longer alive, and that’s why we proceeded with kidnapping and murder charges,” Kernard Redmond, Deputy Solicitor for the Fourth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, told Oxygen.com on Wednesday afternoon. “We will move accordingly with the case. It’s a tough situation."
Prior to Bedford’s arrest, Reid’s sibling had publicly begged authorities to find the 41-year-old mother and bring her alleged killer to justice.
“I need help,” James Reid also said during a Facebook live in September 2021. “I just want to bring my baby home. My sister, we love her. We all love her. That’s why we’re here. I wouldn’t wish this pain that I’m feeling on nobody. I never thought I’d be sitting here holding up a picture of my sister on Facebook missing.”
Reid’s family had also traveled to Georgia to distribute missing persons posters of the missing mother, according to Augusta television station WDRW-TV.
They said last week they were saddened to know how close they were at the time.
“Lord knows we was in the right place at Emanuel’s dad and family members’ house looking for Deidre and to find out later that’s where all the evidence was found," James Reid, said on Facebook on March 11. "And only 11 miles from where we was searching for our sister, the jeep was found submerged in a pond."
Oxygen.com was unable to immediately reach Reid’s family for comment on Wednesday.
Reid, a Black woman, was last seen sporting a ponytail and wearing gray sweatpants, a light pink and white shirt and Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.
Bedford hasn’t yet entered a plea on his own behalf. His court arraignment is scheduled for April 4. The 29-year-old is currently being held at a Marlboro County detention center, according to jail officials. Attorney information wasn’t immediately available for him.
Anyone with information pertaining to the case or the possible whereabouts of Reid is urged to contact the Pageland Police Department at 843-672-6437.