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Late Sunday afternoon, our media outlet received reports regarding a pair of alleged sexual assaults – or attempted sexual assaults – on a neighborhood trail in Sanctuary Cove, part of the sprawling Cane Bay community in Berkeley County, South Carolina.

Both victims were underage females. One of the victims was nearly raped, according to our sources.

After the second assault took place, one resident reached out to us expressing concern that local authorities were “telling exactly NO one that there is a potential serial offender assaulting young girls in Cane Bay.”

“They have no problem sending out headlines for every car that has been rummaged through or elderly person that went for a long walk and may be missing … but they don’t find it a good idea to warn people their daughters could be in harms way while on the trails?” the resident asked.

We reached out to our law enforcement sources first thing Monday morning. As our inquiries were making their way up the flagpole, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) issued a news release at approximately 4:32 p.m. EST on Monday announcing it was investigating the two assaults – and searching for a specific suspect.

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“On Monday, November 27 just after 8:00 p.m. (EST), Berkeley County dispatch received a call in reference to an assault,” the release noted. “Deputies arrived at the victim’s house to collect information and learned the victim was assaulted. The victim is a 14-year-old female. The victim described to investigators she was attacked from behind. Due to the way the victim was assaulted, she was unable to provide a description to investigators, initially. The investigation determined the victim was assaulted on the trails near Shadybrook Drive and Cane Bay Boulevard.”

The second incident was reported just five days later.

“On Saturday, December 2 just before 7:00 p.m., Berkeley County dispatch received a call in reference to an assault,” the release noted. “Deputies learned the victim was assaulted and dropped her phone during the incident. The victim is a 15-year-old female. The victim was able to get away from the assailant. Deputies located the victim’s phone on the trail behind Bella Vista Court. The victim was able to provide deputies with a description of the man who attacked her.”

According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect being sought in connection with the assault(s) is a “younger white male with facial hair” who has a skinny build and is approximately 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-8 inches tall. BCSO is searching for this suspect with assistance from the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

“We are using every resource possible to identify a suspect and make an arrest,” sheriff Duane Lewis said. “Detectives are working around the clock to complete this investigation. We have also requested assistance from SLED. I am urging all parents and guardians to please not allow your children to walk alone on the trails at night. Please make sure you are aware of your surroundings.”

Lewis said his agency has increased patrols in the area as it continues to investigate the assaults and has asked Cane Bay neighbors to report any suspicious activity to Berkeley County dispatch at 843-719-4169.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Several parents with students at Cane Bay High School are upset after a limited number of tickets were sold for next Saturday’s homecoming dance, which means their children would not be able to attend.

Parents who reached out to News 2 this week said the homecoming dance will be held in the commons area of Cane Bay High School, which can accommodate 700 students. But they said the problem is the school has more than 2,000 students.

Brandi Norwood’s daughter is a junior at the high school. And because she’s on the cheer team, Norwood said she’s expected to participate in all of the homecoming events next week.

“It feels defeating to them. They’re encouraged by staff and admin to come together, to be involved in school spirit—that’s how you build community, but then for them to be told, ‘There’s not enough room. You can’t go.’”

Except for the main event – next Saturday’s homecoming dance – because she did not purchase a ticket in time.

“I was given a link to buy tickets, and I wasn’t in a hurry. I got off of work the next day and attempted to buy tickets and it was sold out,” said Norwood.

Norwood said the dance is typically held in the school’s commons area and the 700-ticket cap is nothing new. But she said she’s never had an issue with purchasing tickets for her two older daughters in the past.

“We were told that it was first-come, first-serve and that the tickets were sold within a day, and the link had been posted the day before in the middle of the day,” Norwood explained.

She said there was not adequate communication from the school prior to that link being sent out; however, another parent says there was.

“It was put out that there were a limited amount of tickets, get your tickets early. That was put out,” said Kristin Tanner, whose child also attends Cane Bay High School.

Norwood claims one reason tickets may have gone quickly is because they were distributed differently than in previous years.

“Sophomores and freshmen were allowed to buy tickets, which in the past as far as I understand, seniors and juniors were given preference and then so on and so forth,” she said.

Norwood said she, along with many other parents, is simply disappointed.

“I’ve heard from a lot of other parents who have seniors who have bought dresses and have been preparing and can’t go to the dance,” she said.

Other parents say they cannot sympathize with those who bought clothes before buying a ticket to the dance.

“You put the cart before the horse. That’s what I say to that,” Tanner said.

News 2 reached out to the Berkeley County School District and received the following statement:

“Tickets to the Cane Bay High School Homecoming Dance were made available to all students in a fair and consistent manner. While all schools would love the opportunity to welcome the entire school population to an event held in one location of the school, that is not possible due to fire codes and capacity restriction of rooms and spaces,” said Katie Tanner, Chief Communications & Engagement Officer, BCSD.

This was supposed to be the first real test of the regular season for James Island.

The AAAA Trojans had rolled through their first four games, allowing just one touchdown, heading into Friday night’s game against Class AAAAA Cane Bay.

But James Island had never beaten Cane Bay in six previous tries, including a heart-breaking 3-point loss a year ago when the Cobras kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.

The Cobras (2-2) were coming off an open date and had two weeks to prepare for the Trojans.

But this one wasn’t even close as James Maxwell scored two touchdowns to lead fifth-ranked Trojans past Cane Bay, 28-7, on Sept. 15 before a crowd of more than 2,000 at The Backyard on the campus of James Island.

It wasn’t a perfect game or even a pretty one; the Trojans turned the ball over four times and had more than 100 yards in penalties. But James Island won the physical battle up front.

“We knew this was going to be a smashmouth football game,” said James Island coach Jamar McKoy. “We made way too many mistakes, but we found a way to step up and made some great plays when there needed to be great plays made and won a big ballgame.”

James Island’s defense smothered Cane Bay’s option offense, limiting the Cobras to less than 200 yards of total offense and one TD.

“It was a very physical football game,” said Cane Bay coach Russell Zehr. “They showed up to play that kind of game and we didn’t. At times they were much more physical than we were and that’s disappointing because we pride ourselves on being a physical team and were not tonight.”

After a short punt by the Cobras, James Island grabbed a 7-0 lead on Maxwell’s 8-yard TD run early in the second quarter.

Maxwell appeared to be caught in the Trojans’ backfield on the handoff, but brushed off the initial hit, and then ran over the next two tacklers on his way into the end zone.

The Trojans pushed their advantage to 14-0 on Maxwell’s second TD of the first half, this one coming from a yard out with 2:41 left before halftime.

The second half of Cane Bay’s nine-point loss at Stall Tuesday, Jan. 2, captured the Cobras’ season in a microcosm.

Coach Ira Owens’ bunch trailed by 10 at the break and cut its deficit to two in the fourth quarter before being unable to complete the comeback. An accumulation of missed free throws, missed layups and untimely turnovers led to the Cobras’ latest setback.

Cane Bay dropped to 4-11 overall, with five losses by single digits and another by 11 points. The Cobras lost much of this past year’s squad, including 5A player of the year Alaina Nettles, so scuffling as the 2023-24 season rolled on was expected. The gaffes are correctable, though, with more attention to detail.

“We’re trying to cut down on our mistakes, but we keep making a lot of them over and over again,” said Owens, whose team has won at least a share of the Region 6-5A crown the last two years. “It’s a case if we do a few things better, we’d have won a few more games. Tonight we lost by nine and we missed nine free throws. Little things make a big difference.”

The Cobras crank up the region slate at home against Wando on Friday, Jan. 5 (after press time). The Cobras continue region play at Stratford on Tuesday, Jan. 9 and host Goose Creek on Friday, Jan. 12. After stepping outside the conference at Ashley Ridge on Tuesday, Jan. 16, Cane Bay completes the first rotation through region play at Berkeley on Jan. 19.

“I feel like we can compete with anybody in the region if we play clean basketball,” Owens said. “We’ve talked about it. It’s a matter of it translating on the basketball court.”

The Cane Bay girls are led in scoring by junior Kimora Carmichael at 9.1 points per game. Senior Ella Hill is out front in work around the glass with 9.8 boards per game. Sophomore LaChar Lawrence paces the Cobras with three assists while making 4.4 steals per game. Lawrence is second in scoring (6.5 PPG) and rebounding (7.4 RPG). Carmichael is first in steals with 4.5 a game. Junior Loran Hadden leads with 1.3 blocks per contest.

Cane Bay hosted Timberland on Wednesday, Jan 3, reversing its fortune in close games. The Cobras edged the Lady Wolves, 40-37, in overtime. Carmichael led the way with 13 points, while Lawrence chipped in seven points.

Berkeley High School’s football team caps the regular season in a Region 6-5A game Friday, Oct. 27, at home against Cane Bay High School.

Berkeley leads the all-time series, 7-6, but has dropped the past two. The Cobras blanked the Stags 45-0 in 2022 and 20-0 in 2021, ending Berkeley’s five-game win streak from 2016-20.

The Stags have proven to be much more efficient on offense this fall with freshman quarterback Henry Rivers leading the way. They average better than 26 points per game after scoring just 91 points in 12 games this past season.

Rivers has thrown for 1,654 yards and 19 touchdowns, while rushing for 306 yards and six more scores.

“He’s a heck of an athlete,” said Russell Zehr, Cane Bay head coach. “They’re doing some stuff that can cause us problems. We’ll just have to rep the stuff in practice and we need to have a good game on offense.”

Rivers’ top targets are junior Kayden Bash (24-633-4), senior Tavon Frazier (30-255-1) and junior Kevin Boone (26-473-9). Senior McCrae Driggers has 10 grabs for 131 yards and a touchdown while tight end Miller Whetzel has reached paydirt in back-to-back games.

Seniors Josh Smalls and Isaiah Palmer are the second- and third-leading rushers with 239 yards and 201 yards on the ground, respectively.

At press time, the Cobras (5-3, 2-1 Region 6-5A) were set to take on Stall on Friday, Oct. 20, and Berkeley (4-4, 1-1 region) was set to travel to Stratford (2-6, 1-1 region). The Stags lost a non-region game at Ashley Ridge on Friday, Oct. 13, and Cane Bay tripped up at home against four-time defending league champion Goose Creek.

The Cobras no longer control their own destiny in the region.

“The biggest thing is just don’t let the same team beat you twice,” Zehr said. “We may have lost the region championship but the last thing we can do is lose the desire to go out and improve. We’ve got to get better and that’s the goal.”

The Stags need one win to equal their win total from the past two seasons combined.

Golden Goose trophy

Who will take home the Golden Goose trophy this season?

That question will be answered Friday, Oct. 27, when the Stratford football team rolls over to tangle with rival Goose Creek in a Region 6-5A clash and final game of the regular season.

At press time, the Knights were slated to host Berkeley on Friday, Oct. 20, and Goose Creek was set to travel to Wando. With wins in those games, the Knights and Gators could be playing for the region’s top seed for the playoffs.

This past year, the Gators overcame a handful of turnovers and other gaffes to maintain possession of the trophy and bragging rights with a 25-20 victory at Stratford. The win was the second straight and 13th in 16 meetings for the Gators.

Goose Creek won in a shootout, 69-44, in 2021 and Stratford rallied from 21 down to win 22-21 in 2020.

In other Week 10 matchups involving Berkeley County School District teams, Hanahan hosts Beaufort, Timberland travels to Oceanside Collegiate, Cross goes to Burke and Philip Simmons heads to Battery Creek.

In a SCISA game, St. John’s Christian caps the regular season at Clarendon Hall.