A 4-year-old girl reported missing in Louisiana along with her 6-year-old sister has been found dead in Mississippi, hours after their mother was found murdered in their home.
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, WJVT reported. The older girl was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Wade said that the suspect believed to have abducted the girls and killed their mother, Daniel Callihan, was captured 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 have called in the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Hinds County Sheriff’s Office to assist.
“Horrible, horrible, tragic situation,” Wade said. “You don’t want to see that as a chief. You don’t want to see that as a father, to see this baby that is on the ground that has lost her life. This is an innocent 4-year-old child that’s no longer with us because of the actions of a coward, a coward who took this child from her family.”
Wade said the children were found after Callihan was captured by US Marshals, WAPT said.
“He tried to do away with the children by taking them into this wooded area,” Wade said. “Thank God that at least one of the children survived. My understanding is that the grandparents are enroute to Jackson, Mississippi, to see about that baby.”
An Amber Alert was issued for the two missing girls early Thursday afternoon, after Callie Brunett’s father found her “brutally murdered” at her mobile home in Loranger, Louisiana. The 35-year-old’s parents had reported her missing a day earlier, as CrimeOnline reported. Brunett’s vehicle was missing, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, which said, “The driver of this vehicle is believed to be armed and dangerous. Extreme caution should be used.”
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Jimmy Travis told WWLT that Callihan and Brunett dated “off and on.” The search for the suspect and the missing children first took investigators to McComb, Mississippi, and then to Jackson.
“The suspect has been arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, by the Marshal’s Service,” he said. “He directed them back to the car where the 6-year-old was found alive and well and then he showed officers a wooded area not far from the car where the body of the 4-year-old girl was.”
It’s not clear what charges Callihan is facing, but he will be extradited to Louisiana to face them.
