Father and daughter freeze to death yards from truck after crash

A South Carolina man died next to his 6-year-old daughter after they succumbed to the elements yards away from their truck after a crash, authorities said.

The pair, identified as 42-year-old Jason Murph and his daughter Michelle Murph, had been involved in a crash during a drive to see Murph’s mother, and their frozen bodies were discovered by police K-9s the morning of Dec. 18, according to a Tuesday report.

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Murph and his daughter departed for the girl’s paternal grandmother’s home in Orangeburg 60 miles away, but they never arrived and were reported missing on Dec. 16.

At around 8 p.m., Murph’s estranged wife contacted the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to notify them that Michelle and Jason Murph had been in a crash that had taken their truck off the road.

The wife, Michelle’s mother, could hear the young girl during a phone call with a disoriented Murph following the crash.

Police eventually found the bodies of the pair approximately 50 yards from their burnt-out pickup truck, and a cause of death could not be confirmed following inconclusive autopsies.

Later, Calhoun County coroner Donnie Porth determined that the cause of death was hypothermia.

“It wasn’t below freezing by no means, but because of the wind and the rain, they became extremely cold, and I think it became an urgency for them to try to find help and try to find shelter,” Porth said.

Murph and his daughter had likely left the vehicle after it became stuck in the mud, and it engulfed in flames after Murph likely made attempts to free it, which caused a gas fire due to tire friction, according to Porth.

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After they exited the vehicle, the two attempted to reach the interstate but became mired in mud near a creek, the report noted.

“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,” he said.