Aug. 11 (UPI) — Authorities in South Carolina are investigating the “suspicious” deaths of two women as homicides after their bodies were found in rural woods about 116 miles from Charleston, where they lived.

On Friday afternoon, the remains were found in Rembert, which is 41 miles east of Columbia, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Rembert has a population of only 242 with 42,330 residents in the county.

“We have begun our investigation, and we will have to wait until we have the results of the autopsies to know more,” Sheriff Anthony Dennis said at the scene Friday. “In the meantime, we cannot speculate. At this time, we can only say we are investigating these deaths as suspicious.”

Dennis said a person discovered the bodies and met the deputies when they arrived.

The coroner’s office said that the deaths would be investigated as homicides, according to information obtained by ABC News and The State newspaper. They were identified as Christine Marie McAbee, 35, and Kristen Grissom, 38, and they were from Charleston.

Autopsies will be performed on Tuesday in Charleston, the coroner said.

Coroner Robert Baker didn’t disclose how long the women had been dead or whether they were killed in the woods.