Search ends for missing endangered man

PICKENS COUNTY — At approximately 9:15 p.m. on July 7, deputies with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office located a body believed to be 80-year-old Francis Alward. While no formal identification has been released by the coroner’s office, Alward’s obituary was listed by Dignity Memorial Funeral Home which listed a date of death as June 29, 2022.

Alward, who suffered from dementia, was reported missing on June 29 after family members say he wandered away while his wife was at the grocery store. The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management and Foothills Search and Rescue began searching for Alward that night.

At 8:38 p.m. on July 7, 2022, attendees of a wedding party notified the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) of an unusual odor in the area. The residence is located in the 3100 block of Pumpkintown Highway, which is less than a mile from the home of the late Alward, according to officials.

According to the PCSO, deputies responded to the area and searched a large wooded site behind the home where the body was found along a creek bed in the woods.

Francis Ream Alward Jr. was born in Greenville, S.C., on September 26, 1941 to the late Francis Ream and Mary Edith McDaniel Alward, according to his obituary.

Family members described Francis as “a friendly man who never met a stranger, who had an infectious smile that would light up a room.”

Francis was a U.S. National Guard veteran and a devoted member of Pickens First Baptist Church. Mr. Alward was married to his wife, Mrs. Lee Christine Moss Alward, for 63 years. He is survived by his two children: Holly Alward Melton and Ashley Alward Utsey as well seven grandchildren, two sisters and a half sister.

Funeral services will be conducted on Wednesday, July 13 at Pickens First Baptist Church.

Mr. Alward’s obituary can be viewed at www.dignitymemorial.com.