Search For Missing Hiker Called Off After Teens Allegedly Caused Huge Wildfire With Cigarettes

The young men now face a maximum of 30 days in jail if convicted of causing the Table Rock State Park wildfire.

Three adults and a minor are accused of starting a 13,000-acre wildfire that forced rescuers to abandon their search for a missing hiker, the South Carolina Forestry Commission announced Tuesday.

Nyzaire Jah-Neiz Marsh, 19, Tristan Tyler, 18, and Isaac Wilson, 18, were charged with one misdemeanor count each of negligently allowing fire to spread to lands or property of another, according to the forestry commission. They were charged alongside a juvenile, but he was released to his parents’ custody and not booked in jail.

Officials say the suspects were hiking in Table Rock State Park on March 21 and smoking cigarettes. The young men, however, did not properly extinguish one of the cigarettes, igniting the wildfire, the announcement said.

Pickens County sheriff’s deputies and first responders were already in the area with a search party looking for Stephanie Womacks, 52, who disappeared March 3 while visiting the park, Sheriff Fred Blankenship said.

Womacks’ search was called off after first responders noticed the rapidly growing fires, and seven hikers were evacuated from the park, according to Blankenship and the forestry commission.