Houston: United States Police has likely found the dead body of a three-year-old Indian girl who went missing from her foster home on October 7.
The incident that happened two weeks ago where Sherin Mathews, a three-year-old minor girl, went missing after her foster father punished her for not finishing her milk.
The Police has not yet confirmed the identity of the body that was discovered around 11 AM in a culvert beneath a road, but reports say it is ‘most likely’ of Sherin’s who went missing on October 7.
The Richardson Police who have been searching for Sherin for quite some time now with the help of search dogs discovered remains of a child not far from her foster parents Wesley and Sini Mathews home at a distance of half a mile in a tunnel beneath a road. Though the police have not yet released the cause of the child’s death they assume its “most likely” Sherin’s.
The police officers blocked areas near Spring Valley, Bowser roads, east of Central Expressway as a part of their search operation.
Sherin Mathews was last seen on October 7 outside her family’s backyard in Richardson city in Texas. She has developmental issues and limited verbal communication skills. She was reportedly punished by her foster father who sent her alone to stand next to a large tree, outside late at night around 3 AM, for not finishing up her milk.
However, the Police are skeptical about the body to be another child’s. The identification process is underway with medical examiners examining the remains for the cause of death.
37-year-old Wesley Mathew Sherin’s foster father was arrested on charge of abandoning or endangering a child. He was later released from the custody after signing a 250,000USD bond.
Mathews arrest-warrant affidavit said to be from Kerala, told police that on October 7 he sent Sherin outside and told her to stand next to a large tree at around 3 AM.
According to Police Sergeant Kevin Perlich, Mathew in his affidavit admitted to the Police that he was aware of coyotes or wild dogs in the alley. He allegedly went out looking for Sherin after some time but could not find her. He looked around for her and then went inside to do the laundry since he decided to wait up until morning to search again or for her to return back on her own.
The Richardson Police says they were not alerted about Sherin’s disappearance until about five hours later.
The foster parents reportedly adopted the Sherin some two years ago from an Indian orphanage.
Sherin’s missing case soon caught the attention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. She tweeted on October 19 saying, “We are deeply concerned about the missing child. Indian Embassy in the US is actively involved and they keep me informed”.
Replying to it Anupam Ray India’s Consul General in Houston, tweeted “We are closely monitoring the Sherin Mathews case. We have established contact with the community and authorities”.