CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. — An incident report from the Richland County Sheriff's Department gave new details Tuesday into some of the events leading up to the discovery of the bodies of a missing father and daughter.
Jason Murph, 42, and Michelle Murph, 6, were found dead Tuesday afternoon on Lavender Lane in Calhoun County.
According to the incident report, Jason Murph's wife stated the two were estranged and living separately but that he had been caring for his daughter for the previous two weeks.
She reported receiving a call around 8 p.m. Saturday from Jason Murph saying his Toyota Tundra truck had wrecked in Calhoun County, and he didn't know where he was.
The report also says that during this phone call, she could hear their daughter yelling in the background, and Jason hung up and refused to answer. It also says that the phone died, and Murph's wife texted him to contact 911, but she never heard from him again.
The pickup truck was discovered around noon Monday on Lavender Lane, just off Interstate 26 near the 136-mile marker. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, and around 1 p.m., officers found the bodies of the man and the little girl about 100 yards from the vehicle.
Richland County deputies still haven't said how they believe the two died or what may have happened after the vehicle crashed. The Calhoun County Coroner's Office said an autopsy on the two would take place later in the week.
Meanwhile, residents in Calhoun County are still looking for answers to this tragic case that happened just down the road from them.
"It's sad I'd be curious to know how it happened," Patrick Grenier said on his way to Orangeburg Tuesday. "I heard about it two days ago, maybe when it first happened and it didn't start yet on the news that they found the truck curious to know how it happened,"
"I think it's bad time of year for something like this to have a father and a daughter," Charles Jones, a Calhoun County resident, said. "Like, say, the six-year-old. She's coming up. She's probably had a big Christmas wish. All this happened to her,"
The Richland County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation into these deaths with assistance from Calhoun County and Orangeburg County.