FBI Searches Dallas Home of Adopted Indian Girl Who Went Missing

Sherin Mathews was adopted two years ago from an orphanage in India.

Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: The Quint)

The FBI has searched the home of a three-year-old Indian girl, who is missing since Saturday, when her foster father reportedly sent her outside around 3 am as punishment for not drinking her milk, US media reports said.

Sherin Mathews, who has developmental issues and limited verbal communication skills, was last seen outside her family’s backyard in Richardson, Dallas.

Richardson police, along with an FBI evidence recovery team, entered the house of Wesley Mathews on Tuesday night to execute a search warrant, police Sergeant Kevin Perlich said.

Police went door-to-door in the neighbourhood and used search dogs and helicopters to look for Sherin.

Father Released on $2,50,000 Bail

Investigators will process what they have collected, including security footage, electronics, and items in the family's three vehicles that were towed from the home, Perlich said.

Sherin’s father, Mathews, 37, was arrested on Saturday on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child. He was released from custody on Sunday after posting a $2,50,000 bond.

He is required to wear an electronic monitoring device and surrender his passport as part of the conditions of his bond, the paper said.

Meanwhile, officials with Texas Child Protective Services removed the toddler's 4-year-old sister from the family on Monday, and placed her in protective custody as police continue to search for the missing child.

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Mathews, said to be from Kerala, told police that he put Sherin outside and told her to stand next to a large tree at about 3 am on Saturday, an arrest-warrant affidavit said. The tree was behind a fence, about 100 feet south of the family's home and across an alley.

Police Not Contacted for Five Hours

Mathews admitted to police that he knew coyotes had been seen in the alley, the affidavit said.

Mathews told the police that he checked on Sherin about 3:15 am and she was gone, the affidavit said.

After looking around for her, he said he then went inside to do laundry and decided to wait until morning to continue searching or for her to return on her own, Perlich said.

Police were not alerted to her disappearance until about five hours later.

Why was the last sighting at 3 o’clock and why did the parents not call us until after 8 am, that’s the unanswered question. As for why she was out there, how long she was out there, those are the questions we have for the parents.

Perlich to local media

Kent Starr, Sini’s lawyer spoke about why she has a counsel when she is not charged, as The News Minute reported.

Her biological child was removed from the house. That’s why Sini is retaining a lawyer. All she wants is to have her biological daughter and Sherin back.

Also Read: Why Only 3.2 Percent Of India’s 50,000 Orphans Will Find Parents

The girl's mother does not face any charges. She was in the house at the time, but was reportedly asleep and unaware of what Wesley Mathews was doing, Perlich said.

Sherin's parents are no longer speaking with police and have since retained legal counsel, he said. A memorial has been set up at the spot where Sherin was last seen.

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