In the late summer of 2011, a young mother named Adriana Diana Laster vanished from the small town of Elgin, South Carolina. The 27-year-old was last seen on September 3rd of that year, reportedly on her way to church. At the time, she was seeking refuge with a woman, hiding from her abusive boyfriend, Freddie Grant. Friends and those close to her knew of the volatile nature of her relationship with Grant, who had a history of severely beating her.
The woman she was staying with had even cautioned her against going to church that Sunday, fearful that Grant might find her there. After that day, Adriana was never heard from again, leaving behind a daughter and a family in Florida who would not realize she was officially missing until months later. Her family in Florida reported her missing on March 17, 2012, more than six months after she was last seen alive.
For years, Adriana’s case remained cold, a painful and unanswered question for her loved ones. Foul play was immediately suspected, given the history of domestic abuse she had endured. Suspicion quickly centered on Freddie Grant, but without Adriana's whereabouts being known, there was little progress in the investigation into her disappearance. The case gained renewed attention when Grant was connected to the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl, Gabrielle Swainson, in 2012. Grant eventually confessed to kidnapping and murdering the teenager, leading authorities to her body. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for Swainson's murder, but still, he faced no charges in connection with Adriana's vanishing. Despite being the primary person of interest, he remained silent about what happened to Adriana.
The painful uncertainty for Adriana's family came to a solemn end in January 2024. A construction worker operating an excavator at a sand pit in northeast Richland County made a grim discovery: human remains. The grave was about five feet deep and hidden under the sand, and along with the skeletal remains, investigators found articles of plaid and leopard print clothing. The Richland County Coroner's Office confirmed through testing that the remains were those of Adriana Diana Laster. Shortly after the identification, authorities announced their intention to charge Freddie Grant, already incarcerated for the murder of Gabrielle Swainson, with Adriana's murder. After more than a decade of questions and anguish, the discovery of Adriana’s remains provided a devastating answer and a path toward holding the man long suspected of her disappearance accountable for his actions. The case, which began with a woman seeking safety from her abuser, transitioned from a long-term missing person investigation to a homicide case, bringing a measure of closure to a family that had waited years for the truth.Last Seen: Sep 3, 2011
