Authorities in Mitchell are investigating a couple who they said was traveling with the body of their eight-year-old daughter.
The couple told the Davison County Coroner they were traveling from Washington state to Pine Ridge with their deceased adoptive daughter, according to a press release from the Mitchell Police Department.
The coroner notified police on Wednesday. Officers found the couple at a Mitchell residence. Authorities identified them as 28-year-old Aleksander Kurmoyarov and 33-year-old Mandie Miller. They told police they’d been hauling their daughter’s body in a coffin inside a U-Haul trailer.
Police said they both told investigators the child died earlier this fall, but they gave conflicting dates. Kurmoyarov said the child died just before Halloween, while Miller stated she died on Sept. 10.
Kurmoyarov said they didn’t notify authorities because they wanted to spend more time with the child. They were also concerned they would "get in trouble."
The couple had been in South Dakota around four days before authorities learned of the child's death.
Both are charged with one count of failure to notify law enforcement of the death of a child.
Police said they are working with state authorities in Washington during the investigation.