It has been nearly two decades since the family of Daniel Hiers Jr. has seen or heard from him.
The former Charleston police officer accused of killing his wife and sexually molesting a child in 2005 is one of the nation's most-wanted fugitives — or at least he had been.Â
This summer, the U.S. Marshals Service removed Hiers from the list it maintains of the top-15 suspects they are pursuing.
"Hiers is still a wanted fugitive," said Dave Oney, spokesman for the federal agency. "The case is no less important to the agency, but we wanted to make a vacancy for a case that could benefit from the attention the program affords."
In July, the agency downgraded Hiers to a "major case" designation to make room for Michael Anthony Baltimore Jr., according to Oney. Baltimore is accused of shooting three people at a barbershop in Carlisle, Pa., on May 22, 2021. One of the victims — a barber — died, the service's wanted poster reads.
But the death of one fugitive and the capture of another leave two spots vacant among the 15.Â
In November, media outlets across the country reported that Frederick Cecil McLean — sought for 16 years on charges of child molestation out of San Diego County — was found dead in a home in the Upstate, where he’d been living under an alias. This month, Raymond McLeod, a former Marine wanted in the 2016 death of his girlfriend in San Diego, was arrested in Central America, where he had been teaching, according to news reports.
The Marshals service had planned to remove McLean from the list before his body was unexpectedly discovered, Oney said.
There have been few leads in Hiers' case since 2005.
The biggest development came about four years ago, when Charleston television station WCSC reported that Hiers had been apprehended in China. But Oney said the Marshals have not been able to confirm his arrest. Requests for information from the Chinese embassy, located in Washington, D.C., went unanswered.
"As far as I know, there have been no new developments since that information was reported," Oney said.
Linda Hiers was surprised by the news that her son was removed from the list.Â
"Something's not right," she said when reached by phone at her Hampton home. "I'm at a loss for words."
She declined to speak at length about the case or her son, but said the change in status with the Marshals gives her more reason to doubt the allegations against him.
"He loved her," Linda Hiers said of Dan and his wife, Mila, whom she still spoke of with fondness.
Linda Hiers changed her Facebook profile picture in August to one of the couple laughing on a couch together. Blurry, the photo appears to be from Christmas, an open present sits on Mila's lap. She's wearing black and red pajamas, looking at the camera with a wide smile. Dan has a hand on her shoulder, his eyes squinting and mouth open in laughter. It captured a special memory, Linda Hiers said.
In the comments, she said: "I miss both of them so much."
Ludimila "Mila"Â Araujo was 15 years old and on vacation with friends in Miami when she met Hiers, then 22, according to The Post and Courier's archives.
In a 2005 interview with the newspaper, Mila’s sister Alassandra Cohe de Araujo said their father disapproved of the relationship because of the couple’s age difference, but he eventually relented and allowed the couple to be wed. She was 17.
Allegations against the former lawman surfaced in November 2004, when North Charleston police charged him with sexually assaulting a girl he met in a karate class.
Prior to the accusations, Hiers had 11 years of experience working for three different law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. That was one of the reasons the agency cited when adding him to the most-wanted list.
Hiers left his job with the Charleston Police Department in January 2005 and worked construction jobs while Mila Hiers, rather than return to her native Brazil as her father wanted, worked in the shoe department at the Northwoods Mall Sears to help make ends meet.
On March 9, 2005, the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office filed additional sexual assault charges against Hiers in connection with the same girl.
When he didn't turn himself in to deputies on March 15 and Mila hadn't shown up to work, Linda Hiers drove to the couple's Goose Creek home. She called a neighbor, who found Mila's body inside the master bedroom.
Mila Hiers had been shot in the back of the head at close range while she slept. Investigators believe the 24-year-old woman died between 7 a.m. and noon. Neighbors told police they saw Dan Hiers leave the home early that afternoon.
The trail turned cold after authorities found his red 2005 Chevrolet Aveo in Texas, two miles from the Mexican border.
