Richardson Police Department Sergeant Kevin Perlich announced yesterday that law enforcement found the body of a small child less than a mile from missing toddler Sherin Mathews’ family home on Sunday at roughly 11 AM. The three-year-old toddler reportedly disappeared around 3:15 AM on October 7.
During a news conference yesterday afternoon, Perlich stated that “indications are that it’s most likely her,” meaning Sherin Mathews. He also said that law enforcement did not yet have a positive ID and that Sherin’s parents were notified that authorities discovered a child’s body.
The body was found in a culvert not even a half-mile from the Mathews’ home, NewsFix (CW 33 TV) reported. While police wait for the medical examiner to identify the child, Perlich said law enforcement doesn’t have a reason to believe that it’s not Sherin Mathews, according to WILX 10
Social media grouped with shared goals for Sherin
Three social media groups have been particularly devastated by the discovery police made yesterday. From the time that the little girl disappeared, hundreds of people shared ideas, offered support to one another, and prayed for Sherin and her sister. Many voiced frustrations about her parents’ refusal to cooperate with law enforcement in an effort to find their tiny daughter.
Facebook groups Shoulder2Shoulder for Sherin, Where is Sherin Mathews, and Finding Sherin Mathews had shared goals: Be a voice for the little girl so many people worldwide have since come to love and do everything possible to help, in any way, to locate Sherin. People took the toddler into their hearts and did what her parents should have been doing all along – trying to find answers about where the little girl might be found.
Little girl’s parents a no-show at every vigil
Prior to the discovery of the child’s body, the groups’ members banded together on two occasions and held vigils, the most recent on October 20, for the little girl near a memorial set up by the tree where her father said she was last seen. Her parents were curiously missing from both events.
Yesterday evening another vigil was held for the toddler. Again, her parents were a no-show.
Through everything and above all else, people nationwide and around the world have poured their hopes and efforts into making sure that the little girl left alone was not forgotten and that she would be found. There has been no shortage of praise among group members expressing gratitude to the Richardson Police Department, the FBI, and all the law enforcement agencies and officers involved in finding Sherin. Her parents? Not a word.
If the child’s body is positively identified as Sherin Mathews, it’s most probable that police will have more questions for her parents. As they have already evidenced, they may not say a word.
Why cooperate now? They were completely absent in asking for help or offering to search for their toddler daughter.
Court custody hearing scheduled today for missing toddler’s older sister
Today is a pretty eventful one for Sherin’s mother. She has a scheduled custody hearing for her four-year-old daughter. CPS removed the little girl from the Mathews’ home not long after her tiny three-year-old sister was reported missing.
While maybe it is generally best for children to remain in the family home with one or both parents, it may not be what is right for the child. Hundreds of people are hoping that the court does the right thing and, for now at least, makes sure that Sherin’s older sister stays safe and under the watchful eye of CPS.
People can’t overlook and won’t forget that Sini Mathews lifted not a finger to search for her own toddler daughter. If the child’s body found yesterday morning is the little girl everyone so much hoped would be found alive, it will mean that the end of her life was very much like the beginning. She was abandoned in bushes, adopted from an orphanage in India where she expressed love for her care provider, and came to America, only to have the possibility of having her body discovered near some bushes.
Justice will be served for Sherin, who left a lasting lesson
On October 7, Sherin Mathews didn’t disappear all on her own. She had help. Her father lost her when he allegedly made her stay outside over some milk.
Who cares if the milk got wasted? It could be always be replaced. There is no way possible to replace a child whose father was evidently indifferent about what happened after he reportedly left his toddler daughter to fend for herself in an area where he said there were coyotes.
Not for a single moment should either parent think that police and prosecutors are gullible. Sherin hasn’t lost her voice. Evidence will tell her story. Justice will be served for Sherin. Her legacy won’t be clouded by what her parents did or did not do to help her. It is that she brought so many people from around the world together, teaching everyone to set aside all differences. Love is her life’s imprint and a lasting lesson. She succeeded. Sherin Mathews won countless hearts.
