Ex-Charleston Police Officer Extradited From China After 21 Years On Run
Dan Hiers Jr., a former Charleston police officer, was extradited from China and returned to South Carolina after 21 years on the run, U.S. Marshals announced on July 23, 2026.[1]
He arrived in federal custody in South Carolina and faces state charges including murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.[1]
On March 15, 2005, the day he failed to surrender on child-sex-abuse charges, Hiers' wife Ludmila was found fatally shot in their South Carolina home.[1] Hiers was first charged in November 2004 with lewd acts on a child under 16 before murder and unlawful-flight charges were added.[1]
He was arrested in Shanghai in 2018 while using the alias David Williams and working as a foreign English teacher.[1] Chinese authorities, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, and the FBI helped secure his arrest and extradition, officials said.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On March 15, 2005, the day he failed to surrender on child-sex-abuse charges, Dan Hiers' wife Ludmila was found fatally shot in their South Carolina home.
- Hiers, a former Charleston police officer, was charged with lewd acts on a child under 16 in November 2004 and later with murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
- He was arrested in Shanghai in 2018 while living under the alias David Williams and working as a foreign English teacher.
- The U.S. Marshals Service announced on July 23, 2026, that Hiers has been extradited from China and returned to South Carolina.
- Chinese authorities, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, DOJ's Office of International Affairs, and the FBI assisted in the investigation and extradition.
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