Body Of Missing Teen, Gabbiee Swainson, Found In Elgin

After almost a year of searching, the body of the missing teenager, Gabbiee Swainson, has been found. 

In a press conference Thursday night, Sheriff Leon Lott said he "made a deal with the devil" and that Freddie Grant had shown him the location where he allegedly buried Swainson last August. 

Grant will face murder charges in Richland County, Lott said. 

Grant was currently being held in federal prison in Kentucky on an ammunition conviction but was flown to the scene by a state airplane, Lott said. 

The location of the body, between Elgin and Lugoff, had previously been searched many times by the police, search teams and cadaver dogs, Lott said. 

"It kills us that we didn't find her," Lott said. 

See the timeline in the search for Swainson here. 

The Ridge View High School cheerleader disappeared from her home in August 2012. Duct tape with her DNA was found at Grant's Elgin home. It was later discovered that Grant and Swainson's mother, Elvia, were in a relationship. 

So what made Grant change his mind after almost a year of coercion? 

The breaking point, according to Lott, was the arrest of Freddie Grant's daughter.

Excavation of the body is still ongoing, but Lott said there were things present in the grave that confirmed the identity of the body.

Richland Two School District released this statement on the loss of Swainson.