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A Hampton County native and former Lowcountry police officer turned murder suspect and international fugitive is now back on American soil to face the South Carolina criminal justice system on multiple charges.

Dan Hiers Jr., 61, a fugitive who fled to China after being placed on the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) 15 Most Wanted list in June 2005 has been brought back to the United States after being in Chinese custody since 2018.

Hiers, a former police officer in several South Carolina jurisdictions, was wanted on a Dorchester County, S.C., warrant for criminal sexual conduct with a minor and a Goose Creek, S.C., warrant for murder.

Hiers was last seen on the day of his wife’s murder. Ludimila Hiers, 24, was found dead March 15, 2005, in her Goose Creek home.

Goose Creek Police Department investigators allege Hiers shot her in the back of the head while she was sleeping. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but Hiers disappeared.

Hiers worked for the Charleston Police Department but was suspended in 2004 after he was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor in Dorchester County. The North Charleston Police Department arrested Hiers Nov. 24, 2004, for committing lewd acts on a child under the age of 16. He was released on bond. Hiers was scheduled to surrender on additional charges in Dorchester County on March 15, 2005, but failed to meet his lawyer at the sheriff’s department.

The U.S. Marshals Service said in a release Thursday, July 23, that they had an active arrest warrant for Hiers for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution. It became a cold case until Hiers was spotted in China and taken into Chinese custody in September 2018.

Deputy U.S. Marshals arrived Wednesday in Shanghai, China, to take custody of Hiers and return him to the United States, stated the July 23 release.

https://www.blufftontoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/07/24/dan-hiers-former-sc-cop-turned-international-fugitive-back-in-us-custody/91034377007/