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23rd Oct 2017

Body found in search for missing girl ‘sent outside alone as punishment’

She hasn't been seen since October 7.

Keeley Ryan

A body has been found in the search for a a three-year-old girl who disappeared after her dad is alleged to have made her stand outside alone at 3am.

Sherin Mathews has not been seen since the early hours of the morning on Saturday October 7.

A spokesperson for the Richardson Police Department confirmed that the remains of a child were found on Sunday near the family’s home.

They said in a press conference that it was “most likely” the body of the missing toddler, but a formal identification has not yet been made.

Cops initially feared she had been abducted and issued an Amber Alert before discontinuing it the following Monday.

Officers then arrested her father, Wesley Mathews, over the incident as a massive search was underway.

A statement from the Richardson Police Department said the 37-year-old had been charged with Abandoning or Endangering a Child,but has since been released on bail.

According to local news outlet WFAA, he told police that he took his daughter outside at 3am on Saturday for a punishment.

He told cops that after Sherin refused to drink her milk, he made her stand outside near a large tree in the backyard – but when he went outside 15 minutes later, the three-year-old was gone.

Mathews added that coyotes had been spotted in the alleyway where he left his daughter.

Sgt Kevin Perlich said that police were not called to the home until around five hours after the young girl was last seen.