Investigators visit father’s home in search for missing S.C. 5-year-old

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS/Gray News) - Investigators on Thursday visited the home of the father of a missing five-year-old girl in South Carolina.

New details in the case are emerging after a press conference Wednesday evening and an autopsy report said Aspen Jeter’s mother was shot.

A tip from a viewer led a WIS reporter to what neighbors say is the home of Antar Jeter on Hulon Lane in West Columbia near the Lexington Medical Center.

During the press conference on Wednesday, Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said he knew nothing about Jeter’s residence in Lexington. A neighbor told WIS she’s tried repeatedly to speak with law enforcement, but never heard back from investigators.

That changed Wednesday evening when the woman said law enforcement reached out and told her deputies would investigate the home. At least one deputy from Orangeburg County was seen knocking on the doors Thursday.

Neighbors who spoke with WIS said they believe Aspen is not in danger if she’s with her father, who they described as a dedicated caregiver.

They also said that he’d lost his job caring for her. Aspen is wheelchair-bound and cannot walk or talk. Neighbors said they were often spotted taking strolls through the neighborhood. After losing his job, Jeter allegedly would often ask for money to help feed her.

The neighbor described the relationship between Antar and Aspen’s mother, Crystal Jumper.

“She used to live here with him years ago. I know that they split up she moved out and she moved back, now we know, to Orangeburg, but from my understanding, she spent a few nights with him here a few weeks ago in October and she was, you know, here and there, but mainly it was just him and his daughter,” the neighbor said.

The last time the neighbor saw him at the home in Lexington was the week of Thanksgiving before Jumper’s body was discovered in Orangeburg.

The current timeline of events in the case:

• Nov 1. : The last time Jumper was seen alive
• Nov. 24: During a welfare check deputies discovered Jumper’s body inside of her home in Orangeburg County. Aspen was not inside.
• Nov. 25: The public was asked to assist in locating Aspen.
• Nov. 28: An incident report revealed Jumper and Jeter were living together and did not get along. The report also said she’d been shot.
• Nov. 30. Officials identify Antar Jeter as the one believed to be with Aspen.

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