Father and daughter found dead after car crash on way to grandmother’s house

Jason Murph, 42 and his six-year-old daughter Michelle, were found close to the vehicle last Monday

Father and daughter Jason and Michelle Murph found dead after car broke down on way to grandmother’s house (Murph Family handout/ WIS10)

A father and daughter may have died of hypothermia after their truck crashed on the way to visit the man’s mother, a coroner has ruled.

Jason Murph, 42 and his six-year-old daughter Michelle, were found close to the vehicle last Monday in Richland County, South Carolina.

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

According to the Calhoun County coroner, autopsy results were inconclusive but the determination of hypothermia was made based on weather elements.

The pair had no suspicious injuries, and foul play was not suspected.

Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth told News19: "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.”

Mr Murph’s estranged wife told the Richland County Sheriff’s Department that around 8pm last Saturday, he had called her after his car slid off the road and was wrecked.

Jason Murph and his daughter Michelle Murph (Murph Family handout/ WIS10)

According to a sheriff’s incident report cited by News19, Mr Murph told her that he did not know where he was at the time of the call.

Per News19, the report also says that during this phone call, the wife could hear their daughter yelling in the background, and Mr Murph hung up and didn’t answer when she called back. She said she had texted him to call 911 but did not hear from him again.

Mr Porth suggested that the vehicle had become stuck in the mud after the crash and that evidence at the scene indicated numerous unsuccessful attempts were made to free it.

Mr Porth also suggested that a grass fire was ignited from the friction caused by the attempts to get the vehicle out of the mud, and that the pair had exited the vehicle to extinguish the fire before attempting to reach the interstate for help.

"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 told New19.

"I would ask everyone to keep family and friends and their prayers and thoughts,"

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

“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.”