Sherin Mathews, 3, was last seen about 3 a.m. Saturday in the family’s back yard in the 900 block of Sunningdale.
Officials issued an Amber Alert for the girl Saturday and continued to look for her through Monday afternoon. Officials did not immediately say why the alert was discontinued.
Her father, Wesley Mathews, 37, was arrested on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child. He was released from custody late Sunday after posting $250,000 bond.
Mathews told police he put Sherin outside and told her to stand next to a large tree about 3 a.m. 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. Mathews admitted to police that he knew coyotes had been seen in the alley, the affidavit said.
Mathews told police he checked on Sherin about 3:15 a.m. and she was gone, the affidavit said. Police reportedly weren’t alerted to her disappearance until hours later.
“Why was the last sighting at 3 o’clock and the parents not call us until after 8 a.m., that’s the question we want answered as well,” Richardson police spokesman Kevin Perlich told”As far as why she was out there, how long she was out there, that’s the questions we have for the parents.”
Police went door to door in the neighborhood and used search dogs to look for Sherin on Saturday. The family’s vehicles were towed to look for “any potential evidence,” police told.
Cherian told that Mathews and his wife are good parents.
“The parents are also loving. They loved Sherin very much,” he said. “They take care of her very much.”
Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said the agency is working with law-enforcement officials on the investigation. She said the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was removed from the Richardson home early Monday and placed in foster care.
The family has had previous contact with CPS, Gonzales said, but further details were not released.
Sherin, who has developmental issues and limited verbal communication skills, is described as Asian, about 3 feet tall and 22 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink top, black pajama bottoms and pink flip-flops.
The Mathewses adopted the girl two years ago from an orphanage in India. Perlich said the girl was malnourished when they adopted her, so it wasn’t unusual for her to be awake late at night to eat to increase her weight.
Anyone with information is asked to call Richardson police at 972-744-4800.
