A 4-year-old girl who was reported missing with her 6-year-old sister in Louisiana was found dead in Mississippi hours after her mother was found murdered in their home.
According to WJVT, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said that Erin Brunett was found dead in a wooded area, and her sister, Jalie Brunett, was found alive nearby. The older girl, who was slightly injured, was taken to the hospital and treated.
Amber Alert Girl Found Dead
Wade said that the suspect, Daniel Callihan, who is believed to have kidnapped the girls and killed their mother, was also caught after a short chase in the same area. The chief added that investigators saw evidence of possible human trafficking at the location where Callihan was arrested, including small animal cages, and called the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.
“It’s a terrible, terrible, tragic situation,” Wade said. “You don’t want to see that as a chef. As a father, you do not want to see this baby lying on the ground die. “This 4-year-old innocent child is no longer with us because of a coward, a coward who took this child from his family.”
Wade said the children were found after Callihan was captured by the U.S. Marshals Service, WAPT reported. “He tried to eliminate the children by taking them to this wooded area,” Wade said. “Thank God at least one of the kids survived. I understand the grandparents are going to Jackson, Mississippi, to see that baby.”
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An Amber Alert was issued for two missing girls early Thursday afternoon after Callie Brunett’s father found her “brutally murdered” in her mobile home in Loranger, Louisiana. As CrimeOnline reported, the 35-year-old’s family had reported him missing a day earlier. Brunett’s vehicle was missing, according to the Tangipahoa County Sheriff’s Office, which said: “The driver of this vehicle is believed to be armed and dangerous. Extreme caution should be exercised.”
Tangipahoa County Sheriff’s Office Chief Jimmy Travis told WWL that Callihan and Brunett dated “occasionally.” The search for the suspect and the missing children led investigators first to McComb, Mississippi, and then to Jackson.
“The suspect was arrested by the Marshal Service in Jackson, Mississippi,” he said. “He directed them to the vehicle where the 6-year-old child was found alive and well, and then showed officers to a wooded area not far from the car where the 4-year-old girl’s body was found.”
It’s unclear what charges Callihan is facing, but he will be extradited to Louisiana to face those charges.