A former South Carolina police officer accused of murdering his wife and committing sex offenses against a minor has been returned to the United States from China to face justice. Dan Hiers Jr., 53, was taken into U.S. custody in Shanghai on Wednesday after deputy U.S. Marshals escorted him back, the U.S. Marshals Service announced Thursday.
Hiers is wanted in South Carolina on charges of murder and criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Investigators allege that Hiers shot his wife, 24-year-old Ludimila Hiers, in the back of the head while she slept in their Goose Creek home on March 15, 2005. Authorities stated the killing occurred just hours before Hiers was scheduled to surrender to face additional child sex charges in Dorchester County.
Dorchester County Sheriff Sam Richardson said his office has been notified that Hiers will face the criminal sexual conduct with a minor charge filed in 2005. "Daniel Hiers was entrusted to serve the public as a police officer. Instead, he is accused of betraying that trust and preying upon a child," Richardson said. "No badge, title, or position will ever place someone above the law."
Hiers, a former Charleston Police Department officer, had been suspended in 2004 after being accused of sexually abusing a minor. He was arrested on Nov. 24, 2004, on a charge of committing or attempting a lewd act upon a child under 16, according to South Carolina court records. Additional charges were filed in March 2005, but Hiers failed to appear in court, and the case remained unresolved for decades.
The U.S. Marshals Service placed Hiers on its 15 Most Wanted list in June 2005, identifying him as one of the agency's highest-priority fugitives. "Dan Hiers was in a position of public trust, but he betrayed that trust in the worst possible way," U.S. Marshals Director Gadyaces S. Serralta said in a statement. "Placing him on our 15 Most Wanted list made his capture a priority for this agency. His return to South Carolina is both significant and rewarding, and we thank our domestic and international partners for their tireless persistence in bringing this fugitive to justice."
The Marshals Service described Hiers as "armed and dangerous" and noted his 11 years of law enforcement experience, including training in police tactics and martial arts. The wanted poster indicated Hiers had allegedly stated he would not go to prison and might force an armed confrontation.
The operation to return Hiers involved China’s Ministry of Public Security, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the FBI. The Goose Creek Police Department stated that Hiers’ return marks the end of a decades-long effort to bring him back to South Carolina. "The extradition of Dan Hiers means that justice can finally be served for the lives he destroyed," the department said. "We are deeply appreciative of the U.S. Marshals Service for never wavering in its efforts to bring this fugitive back to the United States, and for keeping us updated over these long years of waiting."
Nicholas Collura, principal deputy assistant secretary for diplomatic security and director of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, said his agency was proud to work with the U.S. Marshals Service and Chinese law enforcement counterparts to ensure Hiers answers for his crimes. Sheriff Richardson also praised the federal agencies for their collaboration in returning Hiers to face the justice system. The Hiers case was featured multiple times on "America's Most Wanted" and "The Hunt with John Walsh" during the search for him.
It was not immediately clear when Hiers would make his first court appearance in South Carolina.