Body of College of Charleston student Owen Tillman Kenney found

The body of the 19-year-old College of Charleston student who mysteriously vanished near his South Carolina home on Halloween and then took his own life was found Saturday morning, police said.

Owen Tillman Kenney’s lifeless body was discovered in the water near Patriots Point around 8:45 a.m., following an exhaustive, days-long search, according to the Charleston Police Department.

“I would like to thank everyone who took part in the effort to get Owen back to his family,” Charleston Police Chief Chito Walker said in a statement.

“We hope this recovery brings some measure of closure to a family experiencing unimaginable loss. We ask that everyone continue to respect the privacy of the Kenney family during this difficult time.”

The teen, from Tinton Falls, New Jersey, was last seen by friends around 2 a.m. on Oct. 31 near King Street and Burns Lane — an area just “minutes from his house,” his devastated family said in a statement on Facebook earlier this week.

Police said Kenney was captured on surveillance footage walking alone onto the Ravenel Bridge pedestrian walkway – about three miles from where he was last spotted – shortly after 3 a.m., and his phone last pinged from the same area around that time.

Nearly a week into the search, investigators announced they were shifting to recovery efforts after video evidence showed the teen died by suicide on the bridges’ walkway at 3:49 a.m., police said. 

Kenney graduated from New Jersey’s Red Bank Catholic High School in 2024 before attending the College of Charleston.

“There are no words that can ease the pain of losing someone so young and so full of promise,” College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu said in a statement on Saturday, ABC News reported.

“Now is the time to surround his family with love, to support the friends and classmates who are grieving and to remind each other that no one in our campus family carries this weight alone. We have encouraged students who have been impacted to seek support through the Counseling Center.”

Hsu said counseling resources are free and confidential.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.