The death of South Carolina fitness trainer Elena Katherine Moore has prompted new uncertainty after an autopsy was unable to establish what killed her and found no evidence of physical injury.
Moore, 39, was discovered dead last week after vanishing on June 11 following a trip to a Planet Fitness location in Lexington. The case drew broad public attention after a close friend told News Agency that Moore had said weeks earlier she was “scared for her life.”
According to investigators, a forensic autopsy showed no bruises, cuts, gunshot injuries, stab wounds, blunt force trauma, signs of strangulation or other visible external injuries.
“The autopsy did not identify an immediate cause of death,” the Lexington County Coroner’s Office said Monday.
Elena Katherine Moore, 39, was reported missing after she left a Planet Fitness gym in Lexington, South Carolina, on Thursday, June 11, 2026, according to the Lexington Police Department. She was found dead six days later. (Lexington Police Department)
Officials said the cause of death is still pending as they wait for toxicology findings, microscopic tissue analysis and a review of Moore’s medical history.
The autopsy update follows authorities’ confirmation that Moore was the woman found dead near Old Cherokee Road and Northlake Drive in Lexington County on June 17.
Search teams found the body after a tip directed investigators to a different area. Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green said at the time that the woman discovered was wearing clothing matching what Moore had on before she disappeared.
A general view of the area in Lexington, S.C., where the body of personal trainer Elena Katherine Moore was found on June 19, 2026. Moore was last seen alive on June 11. (Kat Ramirez for News Agency)
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Moore was last seen June 11 after signing into a Planet Fitness on Whiteford Way around 6:40 p.m. Surveillance footage later showed her walking away from the gym toward a wooded area behind a nearby Lowe’s Home Improvement store, according to police.
Friends have said several aspects of Moore’s behavior before her disappearance were unusual.
“She was scared for her life. She actually said those words to me,” close friend Sondra Campbell previously told News Agency.
The body of South Carolina personal trainer Elena Katherine Moore was found in Lexington on June 19, 2026. She was last seen alive on June 11. (Kat Ramirez for News Agency)
Campbell said Moore wanted to discuss what was troubling her privately but never got the chance.
Another friend told News Agency that Moore, who was typically active online, had gone unusually quiet on social media in the weeks before she disappeared.
Authorities have not said whether foul play is suspected, and no manner of death has been determined.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is continuing to investigate the case.
