Divers found a cell phone belonging to Dara Lee Watson on Thursday in a pond near her home in Mount Pleasant, S.C., according to Capt. Stan Gragg of the Mount Pleasant Police Department. 

The latest development comes as South Carolina authorities continue to search Watson's neighborhood and the surrounding areas for any sign of the missing Watauga County native.

“We're continuing to follow up all the leads we have,” said Capt. Stan Gragg of the Mount Pleasant Police Department.

Watson was last seen in Boone around noon Feb. 6 leaving her parents' store, Watsonatta Western World, for her home in Mount Pleasant. She was reported missing Feb. 10.

The investigation is continuing without the help of one of the last people to see her: her fiancè, David Hedrick. Hedrick was found dead at the couple's home by two of his friends shortly after Watson was reported missing Friday.

Investigators believe Hedrick died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Recordings of the 911 call made by Hedrick's friend, Charles Gilbert, were released this week. In the call, Gilbert tells the dispatcher that he and Patrick O'Neil heard a gunshot from outside the home at 2338 North Creek Drive and broke a window to get into the house.

He at first tells the dispatcher that Hedrick's chest is moving but later says he is bleeding heavily and does not appear to be alive.

“He and his girlfriend just broke up,” Gilbert said in the recording. “They were just about to get married.”

At the dispatcher's request, Gilbert removed a gun from Hedrick's hand and placed it away from him, the recording describes.

As the nearly 11-minute call continues, the dispatcher tries to console Gilbert as he wonders aloud about the circumstances.

“His girlfriend's missing,” Gilbert said. “I got a bad feeling. I want to search the house so bad I can't stand it, dude. Why else would he kill himself?”

O'Neil told The Post and Courier that he sensed something was wrong in telephone conversations with Hedrick last week. He told the paper that Hedrick refused to meet for dinner or discuss what was bothering him. 

When the friends arrived at Hedrick's home, they saw a car in the garage packed with clothes clothes, the newspaper reported.

Officers from the Mount Pleasant Police Department are continuing to search the subdivision where the couple lived, while the Charleston County Sheriff's Office has led the search of the Francis Marion National Forest where Watson's GMC Envoy was found badly burned the evening of Feb. 7.

Since wide-scale searches concluded Saturday and Sunday, officers have since been investigating tips about different areas to see whether additional searches are necessary, said Maj. Jim Brady of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office.

On Wednesday, the investigation included helicopter flyovers and excavation work. 

Investigators are also continuing to test whether any biological clues can be found from a shovel that was found Saturday near the area where the SUV was burned, Brady said.

Two separate witnesses reported seeing Hedrick in the vicinity of the burning car, Gragg said. One reported seeing him walking away from the burning vehicle and tossing a shovel, while another reported picking him up and giving him a ride, Gragg said.

While the majority of searches have focused on the area near the couple's home and in the forest, Brady said it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Watson could be in a completely different area.

He encouraged anyone with information about her possible whereabouts to call the Mount Pleasant Police Department at (843) 884-4176. 

“You don't know what could be a thing that turns the corner,” he said.

Candlelight vigil at Watsonatta Friday. For more information visit www2.wataugademocrat.com/News/story/Prayers-go-up-for-Dara-Watson-id-007017.