CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. — The Calhoun County Coroner said autopsy results conducted on a missing Richland County father and daughter found dead earlier this week were inconclusive. However, he still believes he knows how the two may have died.
On Monday, 42-year-old Jason Murph and his six-year-old daughter Michelle Murph were found dead in an area just off Interstate 26 in Calhoun County. An autopsy was conducted Friday, but it didn't find a definitive cause of death, according to Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth.
However, Porth told News19 he believes the deaths are due to hypothermia.
"Because of the elements," Porth said. "It wasn't below freezing by no means, but because of the wind and the rain, they become extremely cold, and I think it became an urgency for them to try to find help and try to find shelter."
Murph's estranged wife told the Richland County Sheriff's Department that around 8 p.m. last Saturday, Jason Murph called her and said he wrecked his pickup truck in Calhoun County and slid off the road. According to a law enforcement incident report, Jason Murph said he didn't know where he was following the wreck.
The report also says that during this phone call, the wife could hear their daughter yelling in the background, and Jason hung up and didn't answer when she called back. It also said that the phone died, and Murph's wife texted him to contact 911, but she never heard from him again.
The coroner suggested that Murph's vehicle got stuck in the mud after the crash. He said evidence at the scene indicates he made numerous unsuccessful attempts to free it. Porth said the situation took a tragic turn when a grass fire ignited from the friction caused by Murph's attempts to get the vehicle out of the mud.
"In my opinion, the car actually started the grass fire probably about 10:30 p.m., but unfortunately, when the car fire was extinguished, I think that's when they became urgent to get out," he said.
Porth said the father and daughter attempted to reach the interstate for help but tragically got stuck in a wet area near a creek about 100 yards from where the truck crashed. Their bodies were found next to each other.
"I feel like they were walking together, and unfortunately, he being heavier than she is, he sank into the mud, and the more you struggle, the deeper you go," Porth said. "I would ask everyone to keep family and friends and their prayers and thoughts,"
The Richland County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate. Porth said toxicology results are pending, and no foul play is suspected.