Authorities in Texas may have found the body of a 3-year-old girl who has been missing for two weeks. The girl by the name, Sherin Mathews, was last seen by her adoptive father after he locked her outside the house for refusing to drink her milk. Authorities found the body on Sunday morning in a culvert, beneath a road, half a mile from where the girl lived. A Richardson Police sergeant stated that the body is most likely to be the girl, but have not yet positively identified it.
Sherin Mathews' disappearance. Child's father, Wesley, arrested
Sherin Mathews was last seen by her father around 3 am on October 7 after he left her next to a field behind their home as punishment for refusing to drink her milk.
After leaving her, Wesley Mathews went back 15 minutes later to look for her, only to find her missing. According to investigators, her dad then went into the house and did laundry. He later called the police five hours later after failing to locate her daughter. Her father told investigators that the girl was malnourished and had to be fed every time she woke up at night. Her father also told investigators that Sherin was underweight when she was adopted and that she was on a special diet that would help her gain weight. Her dad also said that she did not co-operate during feed time on the day she disappeared.
Her dad was arrested for endangering a child and abandoning her on the same day he reported the disappearance.
He was released on a $250,000 bond and is being monitored through an electronic monitoring device and has surrendered his passport to the police, according to Dallas News. Investigators seized more than 47 items from the home of Wesley Mathews, including five cellphones and a trash bag. Various government agencies took part in the search for the missing girl including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, US Marshals and the FBI.
Sherin was adopted from India
Sherin was adopted two years ago from an Indian orphanage by Wesley Mathews and his wife, Sini Mathews. Sherin's 4-year-old sister has been placed in foster care and will remain under protective custody for the next three weeks, according to a judgment passed by a County Judge on Monday this week.
If the police positively identify the body to be that of Sherin, investigators will try to find out whether Wesley Mathews may have ended her life or whether the girl strayed away from where her dad left her and hid in a culvert. Her parents have hired a criminal law attorney, according to the Dallas News.
