Picture: Body found in River identified as that of Nigerian pharmacy student “Tosin Oyelowo”

Posted by admin Headlines, National Politics Monday, December 26th, 2011

A body found this week on Sullivan’s Island has been identified as that of a 25-year-old pharmacy student from Nigeria, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office confirmed Friday.

Oluwatosin “Tosin” Oyelowo jumped from the Ravenel Bridge the afternoon of Dec. 9, setting off a search of the Cooper River and connected waterways, according to earlier reports from the Charleston Police Department.

The case made headlines in Oyelowo’s native Nigeria, giving rise to theories about her disappearance. But personal effects, such as her driver’s license and purse, were found at the top of the span, where the drop to the water would be about 180 feet. Her car had been parked at a gas station in Mount Pleasant.

A Sullivan’s Island resident saw a woman’s body Wednesday afternoon about 30 feet offshore from the Station 18 beach access. The coroner’s office later positively identified the body as Oyelowo’s.

Deputy Coroner Kimberly Rhoton said Oyelowo died of the injuries she sustained in her leap from the bridge.

Oyelowo, whose family lived in Raleigh after moving from Nigeria, was a first-year pharmacy resident at the Medical University of South Carolina.wp_posts