Augusta, GA
Officers made brief phone contact with woman who’s been missing for days
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – We’ve learned that authorities were briefly able to make phone contact with a missing woman before they ramped up a search for her last week.
Susan Rhodes, 65, has been missing since shortly after she was in a car accident last week on Gregory Lake Road. She wandered away into the woods after the crash, seeming disoriented, according to witnesses.
Authorities have been searching for her, with no success.
Up until today, we were under the impression that no one had had any contact with her since the crash around 2 p.m. Wednesday.
But an incident report from the North Augusta Department of Public Safety shows that with Edgefield County deputies present, her roommate called Rhodes after she’d wandered off.
Rhodes did sound disoriented and indicated she was suffering some kind of medical condition, as authorities have suspected. A deputy urged her to call 911 so her phone could be pinged, but she hung up.
Authorities contacted her phone company and were able to ping her phone, and that’s when they decided to launch a search for her in the heavily wooded area near Gregory Lake.
Her roommate said Rhodes had been complaining all day about blood pressure and stroke-like symptoms, backing up the belief that she was suffering a medical emergency.
In addition, she reportedly had one arm in a sling when she wandered away from the crash.
The incident report also gives more details on the car accident than we’d previously known.
A 30-year-old witness described it to deputies. He said he’d been traveling on Gregory Lake Road away from Martintown Road behind a Chevrolet Malibu that was all over the road. The Malibu was being driven by Rhodes.
The witness said that just past Gregory Landing Drive, the Malibu left the left side of the road before returning to the road, where it struck a Toyota sport utility vehicle on the passenger side with its passenger front.
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The Malibu then left the right side of the roadway and entered a ditch.
The witness helped Rhodes get out of the car.
He said she appeared disoriented and out of it before she walked off and entered a driveway in the 2200 block of Gregory Lake Road.

Initially, a search was conducted by drone, but a large downpour made that difficult.
That’s when Rhodes’ roommate and deputies were able to contact her by phone.
After she hung up, North Augusta police decided to launch a grid search of the area.
No one has reported hearing from her since then, although deputies believe they saw her footprint near a creek.
The search continued through the weekend, but authorities received no new information from it.

They say they don’t think she’s still in the area.
They’ve printed fliers, and Rhodes’ picture is also being shown on digital billboards, with no success.
She was wearing a red shirt, black shoes and a hat. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall.
If you see her or have any clues, call 803-441-4200.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
Abercrombie Becomes a Leader On and Off the Court – Augusta University
Augusta, Ga. – A year ago when Quinasia Abercrombie was a freshman, she let her work on the court do the talking as she became one of the top players in the Peach Belt Conference. Abercrombie didn’t have to be a vocal leader since the Jaguars had several upper classmen that handled that role. This year, her sophomore season, Abercrombie is still one of the best players around, but now has become the vocal leader of the team, something that didn’t come naturally.
“I’m just leading my team by voice now, not just leading by example,” Abercrombie said. “Since I don’t really talk, I think they (my teammates) were really surprised, but they’re listening.”
She leads the Augusta women in several offensive categories and has proven to be a major asset to the program.
From Greenville, S.C., Abercrombie was an all-state high school player. She gives part of that credit to her siblings, one older brother and three younger brothers. She had to scratch and claw on the basketball court with them and she’s the first to give them credit for helping make her the player she is today. Abercrombie went as fas as saying she enjoys playing against guys since they’ll push her hard to become better, and she likes the competition.
Now, she’s also being pushed by coach Celeste Stewart. So much so, it’s taking Abercrombie out of her comfort zone. But it’s all for the betterment of her.
“She’s put me in multiple, uncomfortable situations, like talking, being more verbal, and just putting me in positions I wouldn’t normally put myself in,” added Abercrombie.
With the Peach Belt Conference tournament up next for the Jaguars, Abercrombie thinks this team can find another gear and make a run. While she has elevated her game, she knows her teammates can do the same.
Even going forward as a player, Abercrombie knows there’s plenty of room for improvement. One of the most notable for her, her ball handling skills.
“I know I like to pick up my dribble a lot and give it to my point guards,” said Abercrombie. “But I know I can bring it down the court, I just need to work on my ball handling and just being confident handling the ball.”
Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserve by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.augustajags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Twitter at @AugustaJags.
Augusta, GA
Peach Belt tournament: Augusta misses out for the first time in Metress era
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The 2025-2026 Peach Belt Conference brackets are set, and there is plenty of shakeup this year.
Starting with the women’s bracket, Augusta University secured the #4 overall seed and will face #5 seed Middle Georgia in round one.
USCA’s women’s team did not fair as well, finishing in last place of this season’s standings.
On the men’s side, USCA’s men’s team secured the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament.
In a shocking turn of events, AU’s men’s team did not qualify for the tournament.
This marks the first time the program has missed the PBC tournament since Dip Metress took over the program in 2004.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
Augusta Falls to Georgia Southwestern in Final Game of the Series – Augusta University
Augusta, Ga. – Augusta managed just five hits and one run and fell to Georgia Southwestern 12-1 Sunday as the Hurricanes win two of the three games of the series. The Jaguars are now 7-2 in Peach Belt Conference play and 11-8 overall. The Canes improve to 7-2 in conference play and 12-7 overall.
Georgia Southwestern scored runs in all but one inning including four runs in the first two innings and plated five runs in the fifth, highlighted by a grand slam.
The only Augusta run would come in the fourth inning. Landon Leonard would reach on an error and would come around when Kent Moon reached on a fielder’s choice that would plate Leonard.
Leonard, Moon, Davis Newman, Harris Bachelder and Jakob Cowart would collect the hits for the Jaguars.
Augusta will next be in action on Friday when the open up a three game series with Lander at Jaguar Field. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m.
Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserve by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.augustajags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Twitter at @AugustaJags.
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