Found Deceased SC - Michelle Murph 6 & dad Jason Murph 42, may have been in car accident, phoned wife 8pm near Hwy 301 near Calhoun County, 16 Dec 2023

[azure]

CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — The Calhoun County Coroner says a father and daughter found dead along Interstate 26 in Calhoun County on Monday night died as a result of hypothermia based on the weather elements.

[...]

WACH FOX News obtained an incident report from the Richland County Sheriff's Department that states that Murph is believed to have consumed alcohol.

What!! Didn't someone witness the aftermath of the accident? It seems like it all happened pretty quickly, and it wasn't like it was ten below. Did Jason hide with the child?

 

[SMK777]

What!! Didn't someone witness the aftermath of the accident? It seems like it all happened pretty quickly, and it wasn't like it was ten below. Did Jason hide with the child?

Do you mean he may have hidden to prevent DUI charges? Could that be why the mother begged him to call 911 ?

 

[ForensicToxicologist]

WACH FOX News obtained an incident report from the Richland County Sheriff's Department that states that Murph is believed to have consumed alcohol.

I’m curious what “believed to have consumed alcohol” means here. Was he intoxicated or did he have a beer with dinner? Both are consuming alcohol but theres a huge difference in the implications imo. Sadly, either way it doesn’t change the outcome.

 

[SMK777]

I’m curious what “believed to have consumed alcohol” means here. Was he intoxicated or did he have a beer with dinner? Both are consuming alcohol but theres a huge difference in the implications imo. Sadly, either way it doesn’t change the outcome.

True. Of course we can’t be certain yet, but as he had a prior DUI arrest it could be he has a drinking problem. In that case, he may have tried to hide with his daughter and explains why his wife begged him to call 911.

But this is just conjecture at this point. Whatever happened, it’s tragic that father and daughter are lost , and right before the holidays.

 

[danij614]

This is what the timeline seems to suggest:

Saturday, 6:19 p.m: Jason's truck pulled into an Exxon Station located on S.C. 6 and Interstate 26

Saturday, 6:22pm: "The video showed the car remaining at the pump for around two to three minutes before driving away at 6:22 p.m. The car leaves in the direction of Interstate 26 and U.S. 21."

Saturday, 8:00pm: Wife receives the phone call. After trying to call and text, with no response, she calls the RCSD (Richland County Sheriff's Department)

Saturday, 10:30pm: From the coroner, "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.

Saturday, Sometime after 10:30: Again, from the coroner: 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

Monday (couldnt find a time): with the assistance of the RCSD airplane, the truck was found burned in a field near a power line right-of-way off Lavender Lane.
Monday 12:34 pm: an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office investigator arrived on the scene with bloodhound Shelby. After about 10 or 15 minutes into tracking, K-9 Shelby found the bodies of Jason Murph and Michelle Murph.

Looks like from the Exxon Station to the crash site was only about a mile. But it was around an hour and a half between the time the truck was spotted leaving the gas station until the wife received a call.

The whole situation is sad but puzzling.

Coroner believes he knows how Richland County father, 6-year-old daughter died off I-26

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.

www.wltx.com

Video, second report reveal new details in disappearance of Columbia father, daughter

A second incident report and surveillance video provides new details on the moments leading up to the disappearance of a father and daughter in Calhoun County.

www.wistv.com

 

[ifindedout]

Were any phones found on them? Or (as burnt remains) in the truck?

 

[SMK777]

This is what the timeline seems to suggest:

Saturday, 6:19 p.m: Jason's truck pulled into an Exxon Station located on S.C. 6 and Interstate 26

Saturday, 6:22pm: "The video showed the car remaining at the pump for around two to three minutes before driving away at 6:22 p.m. The car leaves in the direction of Interstate 26 and U.S. 21."

Saturday, 8:00pm: Wife receives the phone call. After trying to call and text, with no response, she calls the RCSD (Richland County Sheriff's Department)

Saturday, 10:30pm: From the coroner, "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.

Saturday, Sometime after 10:30: Again, from the coroner: 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

Monday (couldnt find a time): with the assistance of the RCSD airplane, the truck was found burned in a field near a power line right-of-way off Lavender Lane.
Monday 12:34 pm: an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office investigator arrived on the scene with bloodhound Shelby. After about 10 or 15 minutes into tracking, K-9 Shelby found the bodies of Jason Murph and Michelle Murph.

Looks like from the Exxon Station to the crash site was only about a mile. But it was around an hour and a half between the time the truck was spotted leaving the gas station until the wife received a call.

The whole situation is sad but puzzling.

Coroner believes he knows how Richland County father, 6-year-old daughter died off I-26

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.

www.wltx.com

Video, second report reveal new details in disappearance of Columbia father, daughter

A second incident report and surveillance video provides new details on the moments leading up to the disappearance of a father and daughter in Calhoun County.

www.wistv.com

Thank you for laying this all out concisely.
Yes, it’s extremely sad and also very perplexing.

 

[SMK777]

Were any phones found on them? Or (as burnt remains) in the truck?

Right, you wonder why he didn’t call 911 when the walking wasn’t working, but in an accident it would be very easy for a cell phone to be misplaced. Or to not get reception.

 

[Hap]

Coroner: Father, daughter died of hypothermia - ABC Columbia

Calhoun Co. Coroner Donnie Porth tells ABC Columbia News the autopsies were inconclusive but that he believes the man and the child died from hypothermia due to exposure to the elements.

www.abccolumbia.com

"Calhoun Co. Coroner Donnie Porth tells ABC Columbia News the autopsies were inconclusive but that he believes the man and the child died from hypothermia due to exposure to the elements.

Porth says there were no signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected."

So they were out of the truck, trying to reach someplace for help. Sounds like they got stuck in the mud/marsh. Very sad, indeed.

 

[SMK777]

Coroner: Father, daughter died of hypothermia - ABC Columbia

Calhoun Co. Coroner Donnie Porth tells ABC Columbia News the autopsies were inconclusive but that he believes the man and the child died from hypothermia due to exposure to the elements.

www.abccolumbia.com

"Calhoun Co. Coroner Donnie Porth tells ABC Columbia News the autopsies were inconclusive but that he believes the man and the child died from hypothermia due to exposure to the elements.

Porth says there were no signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected."

So they were out of the truck, trying to reach someplace for help. Sounds like they got stuck in the mud/marsh. Very sad, indeed.

Oh, that is extremely tragic, and at Christmas time. How awful.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

How utterly tragic. I hope Jason wasn't drunk.

If the truck was seen leaving the gas station at around 6:20pm and the crash happened only about a mile away, the crash probably happened at around 6:30pm.

It doesn't sound like the truck was badly damaged at first, and it doesn't sound like Jason or Michelle were injured. I'm guessing Jason spent about 90 minutes desperately trying to get the truck out of the bog, and Michelle was starting to panic.

At about 8:00pm Jason called his estranged wife and Michelle was heard yelling in the background. If the coroner is accurate about the fire starting at around 10:30pm, I guess Jason spent another 150 minutes trying to get the truck out, but the stress on the engine (and being encased in mud) caused an engine fire which ultimately engulfed the truck.

At that point it sounds like Jason and Michelle would have escaped from the truck with minimal injuries, but they too became stuck in the wet mud and sadly died of hypothermia.

So, so sad. And seemingly avoidable.

 

[SMK777]

How utterly tragic. I hope Jason wasn't drunk.

If the truck was seen leaving the gas station at around 6:20pm and the crash happened only about a mile away, the crash probably happened at around 6:30pm.

It doesn't sound like the truck was badly damaged at first, and it doesn't sound like Jason or Michelle were injured. I'm guessing Jason spent about 90 minutes desperately trying to get the truck out of the bog, and Michelle was starting to panic.

At about 8:00pm Jason called his estranged wife and Michelle was heard yelling in the background. If the coroner is accurate about the fire starting at around 10:30pm, I guess Jason spent another 150 minutes trying to get the truck out, but the stress on the engine (and being encased in mud) caused an engine fire which ultimately engulfed the truck.

At that point it sounds like Jason and Michelle would have escaped from the truck with minimal injuries, but they too became stuck in the wet mud and sadly died of hypothermia.

So, so sad. And seemingly avoidable.

The safest thing to do for the child and himself would have been to immediately exit the vehicle, go to the side of the road and call 911, and have them get the truck towed out as well as check the 2 for any injuries.

What he did instead taken together with his wife begging him to call 911 leads me to believe he had probably had alcohol and wanted to avoid detection. A terribly sad and disheartening story at Christmas time.

 

[Fika]

As many said it’s really sad but puzzling.
Nobody seen a crash? Not calling 911 I can understand if there was previous DUI and perhaps alcohol was involved.

Seems like he spent a lot of time trying to get the car out instead of leaving or calling a friend, family member or anyone for help ( from timeline above someone posted).
Phone call to estranged wife was puzzling why calling her? Saying he slid the road but not give any information about whereabouts or need for assistance like “ call someone to get us there and there” or “ we will walk towards..etc “.

 

[SMK777]

As many said it’s really sad but puzzling.
Nobody seen a crash? Not calling 911 I can understand if there was previous DUI and perhaps alcohol was involved.

Seems like he spent a lot of time trying to get the car out instead of leaving or calling a friend, family member or anyone for help ( from timeline above someone posted).
Phone call to estranged wife was puzzling why calling her? Saying he slid the road but not give any information about whereabouts or need for assistance like “ call someone to get us there and there” or “ we will walk towards..etc “.

1. I’m thinking that maybe he called the wife hoping she could contact a family member or friend to help.

2. But because she heard the child crying in the background she began to beg him to call 911, which, if he had drank alcohol and in light of his prior DUI arrest, may have scared him off, causing him to hang up and avoid her (as she told the Sheriff’s Office).

3. This could be why he attempted to get the truck out himself, causing the fire, and then attempted to escape the bog with his daughter, which led to their subsequent deaths of hypothermia.

Terribly tragic spiraling of events for all concerned.

 

[SMK777]

What I can’t understand is, since the mom knew his phone number and she immediately called the Sheriff’s Office, why it was not possible to quickly track them and intervene.

How could they have died of hypothermia if law enforcement had been immediately notified by his wife?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The truck was found in a field damaged and burned. Police K-9s found the father and daughter’s bodies about 50 yards away.

Quentin Murph, Jason Murph’s cousin, said he is confused about how the two ended up at that location because the area was not on the route to their destination.

He said the two were heading from Blythewood to Orangeburg to visit Jason Murph’s mom, but they never made it.

“We’re sorry we weren’t there to maybe help you during the time you needed us the most,” he said. “I just want to say we love you and we’ll always keep you in our fondest memories.”

Father, 6-year-old daughter die of hypothermia after going missing on road trip

The coroner says 42-year-old Jason Murph and his 6-year-old daughter Michelle died of hypothermia.

www.actionnews5.com

 

[SMK777]

Quentin Murph, Jason Murph’s cousin, said he is confused about how the two ended up at that location because the area was not on the route to their destination.

It’s perplexing.

 

[SMK777]

I’m wondering if they had a little time to kill, and took a ride to listen to music or something. And sadly, slid off the road because it was dark and maybe there was an unfamiliar curve he missed.

Something very haunting about this particular story. From pictures and accounts he was a devoted father, and I feel sad for him, his child, and the mother.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

A lot of cases on Websleuths are very confusing, but to me this one seems comparatively and depressingly straightforward.

It would only take a couple of seconds for a truck to careen off the road down the embankment. Once down the embankment it would barely be visible from the road, if visible at all. Especially in the dark. Unless another driver sees it happen, who's going to know you're down there?

Until the fire started, the safest place for Jason and Michelle was to stay in the truck. We know that when they did try to escape on foot, they got stuck in the mud just as the truck had. I'm not sure they could have clambered up the embankment back to the road if they'd wanted to.

Their only hope was either being spotted or calling for help. Jason did call his ex-wife, but apparently he had gotten lost and didn't know where the crash had happened, so he couldn't tell her where they were. Why he didn't call 911 is anyone's guess.

The only thing I don't really understand is why the fire seemingly wasn't spotted. It's not impossible that Jason set the fire deliberately, hoping it would draw attention.

 

[vls12345]

Mystery surrounds death of a dad and daughter, 6, who froze to death

A mystery has grown after a father and his six-year-old daughter were found dead near their 'broken down truck' in rural South Carolina on their way to the young girl's grandma's house.

www.dailymail.co.uk