COLUMBIA, S.C.-
The bunker where authorities say a man assaulted and held a 14-year-old girl captive for more than a week before she could send a text message to her mother for help was destroyed Monday.
A series of explosions around 1 p.m. brought down the roughly 8-foot-deep hole, which had been carved out of the side of a hill and covered with plywood, said State Law Enforcement Division spokeswoman Bobbi Schlatterer.
The owner of the land, along with police and prosecutors, decided to destroy the bunker to defuse public curiosity and for safety, Schlatterer said.
The teen was missing for 10 days before being rescued Sept. 16 after she sent a text message to her mother using her captor’s cell phone, authorities have said. The message, which included a vague description of where she was being held underground, helped authorities locate her in a thick, wooded area less than a mile from her home.
The girl was found inside the booby-trapped bunker, which had a hand-dug privy with toilet paper, a camp stove and shelves made with cut branches and canvas.
A day later, police arrested 36-year-old Vinson Filyaw, who is being held without bond on kidnapping and rape charges.
Zack Atkinson, an attorney representing the 14-year-old’s family, said his clients did not plan to attend the implosion.
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