A former Charleston police officer accused of murdering his wife has been returned to the United States from China after more than two decades as a fugitive. Dan Hiers Jr. was taken into custody and extradited following a lengthy international investigation.
Hiers, 53, was suspended from the Charleston Police Department in 2004 after accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor. He was arrested in November that year on charges of lewd acts on a child under 16 and released on bond.
He failed to appear for surrender on March 15, 2005. Authorities discovered his wife, Ludmila, shot in the back of the head at their home that same day. A warrant was issued, and Hiers disappeared, with his last confirmed sighting on that date.
Hiers was arrested in Shanghai in 2018 while living under the name David Williams. The U.S. Marshals Service coordinated with Chinese authorities and other agencies for the extradition, which concluded with his return to South Carolina.
"Dan Hiers was in a position of public trust, but he betrayed that trust in the worst possible way," said U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces S. Serralta. "His return to South Carolina is both significant and rewarding."