Crime Solvers Central
Crime Solvers Central
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On the pre-dawn run of September 22, 2014, 19-year-old Clemson sophomore Tucker Hipps joined Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers and pledges for an activity that ended with his body found hours later in the shallow water beneath the Highway 93 bridge over Lake Hartwell in Oconee County, South Carolina. An autopsy ruled the cause of death blunt force trauma consistent with a fall and striking the rocks below.

A civil wrongful death suit filed by Hipps’ parents says the run was unauthorized, that Hipps—pledge class president—was ordered to bring breakfast but lacked money, and that a confrontation occurred between him and older member Thomas Carter King on the bridge. Accounts differ on what happened next; one version in the suit says Hipps was punished by walking a narrow railing, slipped, and fell headfirst. No one present has been criminally charged and no witness has publicly said they saw the fall.

The family alleged hazing, negligence, and a cover-up, asserting some messages and calls were deleted; the suit later settled for an undisclosed amount. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation remains open and was reinvestigated, and rewards have been offered for information. Did anyone on that run see something that hasn’t been shared publicly?