Man held by Ohio police after dead infant found inside running pickup truck
MERCER COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) A 22-year-old Ohio man is being held in the Mercer County Jail after an infant was found dead in a car seat inside a pickup truck that had been parked with the engine running late Tuesday afternoon.
According to Sheriff Jeff Grey of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, a resident made a 911 call just after 5:15 p.m. to report the discovery of the infant on Wabash Road in Washington Township. Deputies and members of the Celina Fire Department responded. The infant was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies found an ID inside the truck belonging to Brian Hayslip, 22, of Springfield, Ohio. Hayslip had been reported as a missing person by authorities in Clark County, Ohio.
A K-9 unit with the Coldwater Police Department was called in to try and track Hayslip, who was found a short time later in an open field next to a wooded area. He was taken into custody and is being held in the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility until specific criminal charges are determined by the prosecutor.
The infant’s body has been taken to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office where an autopsy is expected to be conducted sometime Wednesday. Clark County authorities say Hayslip is the child’s father. Lieutenant Christopher Clark with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office says the child’s mother called authorities on Tuesday when she couldn’t locate her child. The child was supposed to be with Hayslip, who lived with the child’s mother and child at the home on Lawrenceville Drive.
Detectives with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office are working the case jointly and both the Mercer and Clark County Prosecutors Offices are also working together to determine jurisdiction.