Body Found in Search for Girl Who Was Put Outside at 3am

Police in a Dallas suburb say they've found the body of a small child not far from the home of a 3-year-old girl who's been missing since earlier this month. Richardson police say the child's body was discovered in a culvert as authorities using dogs searched for Sherin Mathews on Sunday morning. The Dallas News reports the location is less than a mile from her home. Her father, Wesley Mathews, has told authorities he ordered the child to stand next to a tree behind the fence at their home around 3am on Oct. 7 as punishment for not drinking her milk and she went missing.

Police say the body hasn't been positively identified but that they have no reason to believe it's a different child. No details have been released on how the child died. The AP reports Mathews, who went outside to check on the girl around 3:15am, is charged with child endangerment. After not finding her, he decided to wait until daylight to look again and did laundry while waiting. The girl's mother was asleep throughout the incident. Police say the family's Acura SUV was away from the home during the 4am hour on the morning Sherin went missing.

(More missing child stories.)