MYRTLE BEACH -- The body of a fetus found buried Monday morning near Conway could not have survived outside of its mother's womb, authorities said Monday night.
Horry County Authorities arrested the 16-year-old mother after locating the body. She remains in custody charged with destruction or desecration of human remains. Police say whether she faces any additional charges depends on their investigation of why the fetus was not carried to term.
Authorities say if she miscarried the child naturally then only the desecration charge will apply, but if the mother took a drug or did something to cause herself to abort the baby then prosecutors could add additional charges.
An autopsy is scheduled for later this week.
Police learned of the body after the teen's mother called police after finding the remains near Highway 544 in Conway. The woman told police that she found what appeared to be "burial" photos on the 16-year-old's cell phone. The woman told police the burial took place sometime in May 2009.
(Barrington News Network partner WPDE News Channel 15 contributed to this report.)
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