BATON ROUGE, La. — UPDATE:
The body of 2-year-old Nevaeh Allen has been found in a remote area in Mississippi according to our partners at WBRZ.
The coroner classified her death as a homicide, but has yet to determine the exact cause of death.
Allen was reported missing Friday, September 24, and was said to be in danger.
Original story:
Baton Rouge Police arrested the stepfather of missing 2-year-old girl Nevaeh Allen on Sunday in connection to her disappearance, WBRZ reported.
Philip Gardner, 30, faces charges of unlawful disposal of remains and obstructions of justice.
Nevaeh Allen was last seen by her stepfather around 1 p.m. Friday when he took a nap. When the missing child's siblings came home from school around 4:15 p.m., the door was wide open and the child was missing.
Lanaya Cardwell, the girl's mother, said she left her children with her live-in boyfriend —Gardner— on Friday.
Phillip Gardner's mother, Kim Holmes spoke to WBRZ.
"I can't see my son hurting a child," Holmes said.
Her son was later charged in connection with the case. He was taken into custody earlier in the weekend and questioned.
"It should be the last two adults to see the kids. They need to be questioned." Casey Amacker, the missing toddler's uncle, said to WBRZ.
Amacker doesn't believe his sister had anything to do with the toddler's disappearance but he said he understood why she's being questioned.
"I think that [police] should take everybody, the two adults, and ask them the full questions because who can identify anything about her leaving this room right here and walking down these stairs. The story doesn't make any sense," Casey Amacker said.
Police, the fire department, State Police and the FBI were involved in the three-day-long search.
"She is believed to be in imminent danger," a Louisiana State Police statement said. "Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Nevaeh Allen should immediately contact the Baton Rouge Police Department at 225.389.2000 or local law enforcement by dialing 911."
LSP issued a Level II Endangered Missing Child advisory on Friday on behalf of the Baton Rouge Police Department. That advisory was canceled Sunday afternoon.
She went missing from her home in the Belaire neighborhood in Baton Rouge.
Police described the missing child as Black with black hair and brown eyes, about 33 inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds.
"She was last seen wearing a yellow dress with pineapples and no shoes," the LSP statement said.
According to our partners at WBRZ, FBI agents questioned family members about the child Saturday and that no one was labeled as a suspect. A large search party was formed and they searched the area around the apartment complex.
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