Authorities say a body has been found amid their search for a 14-month-old toddler who disappeared from her home late Tuesday in Spencer, Indiana.
Indiana State Police told NBC Chicago the body of a baby matching Shaylyn Michelle Kay Ammerman's description was found in a remote area near the White River northeast of Gosport.
The Owen County Coroner's Office is set to perform an autopsy Friday morning to possibly identify the infant and determine the cause of death.
A 22-year-old man from Spencer was taken into custody and is being held in connection with the case, police said. No charges had been filed as of Thursday night.
Officials said Shaylyn's case is still ongoing.
Shaylyn, who will be 15 months old next week, was last seen around midnight, when her grandmother told police she checked on her after putting the girl to bed around 10:30 p.m.
“She was laying in her bed sound asleep and then we went to bed and we woke up and she was gone,” Tamera Morgan, Shaylyn’s grandmother, told NBC affiliate WTHR.
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Indiana State Police had said they interviewed several witnesses, including the family of the infant and “persons of interest.” They had searched a number of vehicles and homes and continue to look in areas in Owen County near 489 W. Jefferson St., where the girl went missing, according to a release from the department.
The toddler’s father believes his daughter was abducted from the home.
“I have no idea where, I’m thinking somebody that has a big grudge over my family,” Justin Ammerman told WTHR. “I don’t know what kind of grudge would have against my family, I mean my family is the most peaceful people in the world.”
Investigators told WTHR there were reports of a party at the house the night Shaylyn went missing, but the family has denied that claim.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were assisting in the search.
