The parents of Sherin Mathews, the Texas toddler who vanished after her father left her alone in an alley, are no longer cooperating with the investigation, police said.
According to CBS DFW, the Richardson Police Department said Wesley Mathews and his wife have hired a lawyer. The police department did not return the Daily News’ request for comment.
Mathews, 37, was arrested over the weekend and charged with abandoning or endangering a child after he allegedly told police that he made the 3-year-old little girl stand near a tree in an alley behind their home around 3 a.m. Saturday.
Mathews reportedly said he was punishing Sherin because she didn’t finish drinking her milk. When he went to check on her around 3:15 a.m. she was gone.
Police said Mathews waited about five hours before he called police to report the disappearance.
He spent about 24 hours in jail before bonding himself out. Mathews and his wife are said to be back at their Richardson home.
Police issued an Amber Alert for the missing child, but canceled it Monday night due to lack of evidence, CBS DFW reports.
Authorities, however, are still desperately searching for the toddler.
“The search for 3-year-old Sherin Mathews continues,” the department wrote in a Facebook post. “During the past three days, numerous searches have been conducted around the neighborhood and surrounding areas where Sherin’s adoptive father last reported seeing her on Saturday morning. Those thorough searches involved the use of Reverse 911, trained search experts utilizing K-9 teams, helicopters and door to door canvassing.”
A spokesperson for Child Protective Services told the Dallas Morning News that they are working with police on the investigation and have removed the couple’s biological 4-year-old daughter from the home. The child was placed in foster care as the investigation into Sherin’s disappearance continues.
