Unfortunately, the news accounts don't credit anything that exciting, like Bigfoot or El Chuppa. But there is a theory that a former zoo that was
closed a year ago may be the source of the attack -- perhaps a wayward panther, cougar or even better .... a lion.
I saw a Discovery show about the North American Lion, which was thought to be extinct, but they apparently caught some on video after tracking
migrationary patterns (based on reported sightings). If I remember correctly, SC is a bit out of its area, but it is a possibility.
Pretty cool indeed, in the Netherlands we have had a situation like that a while ago. There was a tiger of cougar (not sure) that had escaped from a
zoo. It then dissappeared for a while and was found a few weeks later in the woods. But a lot people have been afraid for a while.