Do we know if this was a rural location?
That is a good question...funny thing about the stretches of road (95) in both NC and SC...there are long stretches of road that traverse swamp type areas all through the state. By the looks of the map it looks fairly populated - however I have been on the road several times and it can be populated and then you can feel like your driving through a jungle (feels like a canopy road at times).
I don't remember a lot of guard rails there either. From what I understand a lot of people go off the road and into the swamps or woods.
It should not have taken this long to find them. They should have been found when the 911 call was made.