A missing 5-year-old South Carolina girl has been found alive in Virginia and her father has been arrested in the murder of her mother, a South Carolina sheriff’s office said.
Aspen Jeter was located safely around 12:40 p.m. on Friday in a hospital parking lot in Danville, Va., the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
Aspen’s father, 47-year-old Antar Jeter, was arrested by U.S. Marshals and Virginia authorities and charged with murdering Crystal Jeter, according to the sheriff’s office.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/LVLZ3UM44VDS3AESKRJ7LZBEAA.jpg)
Crystal Jeter was found dead at home in rural South Carolina during a welfare check on Thanksgiving, the sheriff’s office said.
She was found to have sustained a gunshot wound to the upper body, Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said at a press conference, according to WCSC-TV.
The sheriff’s office said it was working to have the child returned to South Carolina.
“She’s safe,” said Justin Bamberg, a lawyer representing the girl’s family, according to WCSC. “Aspen will not become a ward of the state. We’re going to make sure that she’s with family.”
An investigation is ongoing.
