Coroner determines likely cause of death for missing Columbia father, daughter
The Calhoun County coroner says no foul play is suspected in the deaths of a Columbia father and daughter who were found dead 100 yards from their burned-out truck.
While autopsy results were inconclusive, Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth told reporters that the likely cause of death for 42-year-old Jason Murph and his 6-year-old daughter Michelle Murph was exposure to the elements leading to hypothermia.
Murph and his daughter were found Monday near the I-26 exit ramp in Saint Matthews after disappearing Saturday night. The pair were found following a search by multiple agencies, including the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Porth told The State he believes Murph’s silver Toyota Tundra truck got stuck in the mud in a swamp off of the side of Lavender Lane, a frontage road near an on-ramp to I-26.
“It led from one thing to another — they ended up close to a swamp where they could see the interstate but they were unable to get out,” Porth told The State. Despite being right off of the highway, the rural area is sparsely populated, with thick woods crisscrossed by high voltage power lines.
Richland County Sheriff’s Deputies reported that around 8 p.m. Saturday, Murph called his estranged wife saying that he had wrecked his Toyota Tundra truck before his phone abruptly cut off.
“In a lot of instances, and I think this to be the case, when you’re under a power line, especially this high voltage, it interferes with your reception,” Porth said.
Evidence from the scene suggested that Murph made repeated attempts to free the truck from the mud, but these efforts made the situation worse.
Around 10:30 p.m., Porth said, “the heated engine and the catalytic converter caused a grass fire under the vehicle, which burned it up.” Images of the truck show it was almost completely destroyed from the fire. Without shelter and the with the fire dying down, Porth said, that the pair set off on foot, likely in an effort to reach the highway.
“They needed to go to the interstate and get help,” Porth said, but “the deeper they got into the swamp the worse the mud got.”
As they set off, a storm swept through the Midlands and up the East Coast bringing rain and fierce winds.
While temperatures did not fall below freezing Saturday night or Sunday morning, the CDC warns that hypothermia can set in when the body’s temperature falls below 95° F. That can occur even at temperatures above 40° F when a person is “chilled from rain, sweat, or submersion in cold water,” according to the CDC.
Porth estimated their time of death between 2 and 3 a.m. Sunday. While previous reporting has said that according to an incident report sheriff’s deputies suspected Murph may have consumed alcohol before the crash, Porth said they were still awaiting toxicology results. The CDC also states that intoxication can increase your risk of hypothermia.
Murph’s phone, which could offer more clues as to what led to the deaths of the father and daughter, has not been recovered.
“I never could find the phone,” Porth said. “Either it was buried in the mud or it was left in the car.”