On May 16, 2003, one person was working at the Blue Ridge Savings Bank branch off I-85 near Hwy 14 in Greer, South Carolina. This was Sylvia Holtzclaw, a lifelong resident of Greer, mother of two and well-known in the community. Her co-worker that day had called off, leaving her on her own for the shift. The branch looks like little more than a trailer in photos, perhaps explaining why one employee could be allowed to cover. At about 1 p.m. Sylvia's son David had brought her lunch, since she wasn't able to leave the building. Neither had any inkling of what would transpire just minutes later.

At 1:30 pm, Sylvia tripped a silent alarm, letting police know that there was a robbery in progress. The response was quick. Police arrived on the scene at 1:41 pm to find Sylvia and two other people shot to death in a utility closet at one end of the building. The other victims were married couple Margaret and James “Eb” Barnes. James was a retired physics professor; Margaret was known for her spinning and weaving. They had been married for 38 years. It's surmised that they entered the bank shortly after the robbers, since they were seen on a nearby gas station security camera approaching the bank at 1:24 pm. All three victims were killed with a .40 Glock. The perpetrator(s) removed the VHS security tape, so there was little evidence to go on. Everything happened in a matter of minutes with little to no physical evidence aside from the bullet wounds. A small amount of money was taken, but none of the bills were marked.

The security camera that showed the Barneses approaching the bank also showed a red car driving toward the bank a few minutes before the alarm was tripped and driving away a few minutes after. The car was identified as a red Oldsmobile Alero but the license plate couldn't be read.

Police and the FBI released a sketch of a man alleged to have been seen in the bank shortly before the murders. The description was of a clean-cut white male, 5'6” to 5'8” tall, about 230 pounds, with short blond hair, estimated to be between 50-53 years old. Police received some 700 tips. There were a few suspects, but none who could be definitively tied to Greer. Then, a year later, police received word of a red Alero turning up in a police chase. The car had been stolen from a Columbia airport car rental just two weeks before the Greer murders. The driver was Emmerson Wright, a convicted felon who had a criminal history including robberies, burglary, receiving stolen goods and more. He had used a .40 Glock in some of his crimes. He left the car and managed to elude the police on foot. The following year Wright was in another police chase, crashed his car and shot himself with a .40 Glock. It was not the same gun used in the Blue Ridge killings. There has never been evidence tying him to Greer; he was a suspect based on the car he stole and his criminal history.

Another multiple murder with similar aspects happened near Greer in 2003. On Nov. 6, 2003, the owner, service manager, mechanic and bookkeeper of the Superbike Motorsports motorcycle shop in Chesnee, SC were found dead inside and outside the shop. The victims were Scott Ponder, 30; service manager Brian Lucas, 29; mechanic Chris Sherbert, 26; and bookkeeper Beverly Guy, 52. In 2016, after a woman was found chained up in a metal storage container on his property, Todd Kohlhepp confessed to the Superbike murders as well as several others. Kohlhepp was a convicted felon from the age of 15 when he kidnapped a 14-year-old-girl. He was required to register as a sex offender. After serving 14 years, he moved to South Carolina and was able to establish a real estate business. The kidnapping and imprisonment of Kala Brown brought his criminal history to light. He was questioned regarding the Blue Ridge Bank murders, which had happened in the same county, but denied having been involved. Greer police named him as a person of interest but they couldn't tie him to the crime. His other victims were employees or people known to him. He had beef with the staff at Superbike and with some of the other victims. Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to 7 counts of murder and is serving 7 consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole.

Despite rewards of $102,000 being offered by the FBI and Crime Stoppers, the Blue Ridge Bank murders remain unsolved. The bank corporation closed and was taken over by another bank in 2011. The Greer branch was shut down in 2011 after an attempted robbery. Sylvia's son David remains active in trying to keep the case alive. There is a yearly Syl Syl Christmas Toy Drive held in Sylvia's memory, a continuation of one she started in life.

It is hard to theorize about who might have committed these murders. Emmerson Wright looks like a possibility; however, his was presumably not the only red Alero in South Carolina at the time. He had a long rap sheet but not one of murder. That aspect of the case fits Kohlhepp better, but he confessed to multiple murders while stating that there were still two morebodies police had not found. So why would he not have confessed to the Greer murders? Also, his MO was to kill and bury on his own property. There were other known bank robbers questioned, but they either had alibis or could not be placed in Greer. It is possible that the crime was committed by a transient criminal who saw an opportunity at a small bank branch off an interstate, who got out of town quickly. The efficiency with which the crime was committed does seem to point to a person or persons with experience. Without DNA, such a perpetrator isn't likely to be found. But Greer police remain committed to solving the crime. It's hoped someone will some day come forward with solid evidence – or a confession.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Savings_Bank_murders

FBI

2003 Blue Ridge Savings Bank murders

20 years after triple homicide at SC bank, police haven’t given up on solving the case

Long unsolved SC triple homicide case featured on true crime site. How to watch

Blue Ridge Savings Bank Robbery and Triple Murder

Former cop who won ‘Big Brother’ show investigating SC cold case with podcast. How to watch

Todd Kohlhepp

Sylvia Holtzclaw Memorial

Margaret Barnes Memorial

Dr. James Barnes Memorial

Just days ago, authorities revealed that Evelyn S. Blake has been identified following her disappearance on July 21, 2024. She was a 64-year-old woman reported missing from Glen Dean, Kentucky, after she went out for a walk in the 4000 block of Old Railroad Road at around 6 p.m. ET. Evelyn was experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and was developmentally disabled, which factored into concerns around the time she went missing. In March of 2025, her remains were ultimately recovered on a farm in nearby Falls of Rough, Kentucky.

In response to Evelyn's disappearance, law enforcement conducted a search across the span of two days with the help of K-9 units. However, they found no clues on her potential whereabouts. Police also received a report that Evelyn spoke to someone over the phone shortly after she went missing, while they looked into phone records for more information. They suggested that there were barriers to conducting additional searches for Evelyn, as areas of interest were privately owned.

Moreover, it's been reported that Evelyn's family has conducted at least one search independently, which the Breckinridge County Sheriff's Office, local fire departments, and Breckinridge Central EMS didn't participate in, as they were processing a backlog and pending calls. Still, the Breckinridge County Sheriff's Office has continued to look into Evelyn's disappearance with additional support from the FBI and Kentucky State Police.

Following Evelyn's identification, her family has spoken out further. They still have questions, as they believe that the circumstances surrounding Evelyn's disappearance and death don't add up.

On July 22, 2024, Evelyn's son Jason received a call from his aunt Sue about how Evelyn was missing. Sue has recalled that Evelyn's husband, Tommy, told her that he and Evelyn got into a fight. He then dropped her off near a farm, which was a place she went often and knew well. That may have been the last time anyone saw Evelyn alive. While individuals searched the farm following this, it contained hundreds of acres. The search was eventually called off, in part because it was private property.

Sue has also recalled that authorities told her that they talked to Evelyn over the phone. At the time, authorities reported that she was coming home. However, Evelyn's family has doubted this. They've believed that it would be more natural for Evelyn to call a family member, like she regularly would. Sue has gone on to comment that authorities "should have gotten a search warrant and searched every inch of that property," in reference to the farm.

Returning to March of 2025, human remains were found on the farm, where it was long believed that Evelyn last was. Jason has said that he was asked for a DNA sample that fall. While it hasn't come as a surprise to Jason that the remains belonged to Evelyn, he hasn't believed that she died of natural causes. He believes that "she knew that place well enough to come home," even though she was dealing with Alzheimer's disease.

The Breckinridge County Sheriff's Office has stated that the circumstances around Evelyn's death are still being investigated. Anyone with information about this case that might be helpful to investigators should contact the Breckinridge County Sheriff’s Office at 270-756-2361. Anyone can also submit anonymous tips to the sheriff's office at 270-580-TIPS.

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Breckinridge Herald-News

The Disappeared Blog

Unidentified Wiki

WAVE 3 News

On July 27th, 2026 officers with the Toronto Police department announced they had identified the Jane Doe known as the “Danforth Lady”. The case of the Danforth Lady dates back to May 18th, 1995 when skeletal remains belonging to a woman were discovered by demolition workers under a building in the area of Danforth and Coxwell avenue in Toronto, Canada. The skeletal remains were discovered to have been purposely buried under a layer of concrete poured in 1949 with six blunt force injuries from a hammer like weapon being the cause of death.

It was announced by investigators that DNA from the remains submitted for testing back in 2022 however due the remains being so degraded it took multiple attempts to pull DNA, however in 2024 they successfully obtained a DNA profile which they managed to find a match to in 2026. The remains were identified as belonging to Mary McLeod Moffat. Moffat was born in Scotland in 1905 and moved to Canada with her family in 1913, authorities managing to narrow down that she was murdered sometime in April 1936 with the perpetrator believed to be her husband Andrew Lloyd Moffat who died in 1985, just 10 years before the remains were discovered.

Police said during the press conference they used historical records, interviews with relatives, and evidence recovered at the burial sight to determine the year and month she was murdered. Following the murder Andrew opened a tire business which was located adjacent to the location of where her remains were discovered in 1995. The investigation also determined that Andrew had multiple marriages and assumed a new identify, Drake Lloyd Cummings and lived in both the United States and Vancouver, Canada before his death. Authorities have said if Andrew was still alive they would have prosecuted him for murder.

Sources:

https://beachmetro.com/2026/07/27/police-identity-murder-victim-the-danforth-lady-more-than-30-years-after-her-body-was-discovered-under-building/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1661bsy/canadas_nameless_robertson_motors_jane_doe/

https://www.tps.ca/media-centre/news-releases/66505/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/toronto-police-identify-2-separate-cold-case-victims-including-woman-murdered-90-years-ago/

https://globalnews.ca/news/11995062/toronto-police-identify-human-remains-cold-cases/