COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Two bodies of two teenage boys, missing since Oct. 13, were found in their partially submerged car in a river near Interstate 20 in South Carolina, police said.
The car had run off the highway on or near a bridge, investigators said.
Kershaw County authorities confirmed Monday the bodies found in the Wateree River were those of Jake Ziegler, 18, and Ray Pierce, 17, high school seniors who were last seen leaving a party in Catawba County, with plans to travel to Myrtle Beach.
"They ran off the bridge or just in front of the bridge," said Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid.
They were found about 20 miles east of Columbia, the Charlotte, N.C., Observer reported.
Authorities said Sunday it appeared the boys' car veered across the highway divider and went down an embankment, stopping in the river Searchers found a bumper of the car jutting out from the water.
The teens' disappearance set off a search in several counties and flyers were passed out at a Carolina Panthers football game, the newspaper said.
