5-year-old girl’s body pulled from Indiana river; stepmother charged with neglect
VINCENNES, Ind. (AP) — Authorities have recovered the body of a 5-year-old girl from a southwestern Indiana river, and the girl’s stepmother has been charged with neglect.
The girl’s body was found Thursday evening near a boat ramp at Kimmel Park along the Wabash River in Vincennes, hours after a bystander called 911 about a missing child, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said Friday.
As a result of the investigation, the girl’s stepmother, 26-year-old Deonna Hollingsworth, was taken into custody. Investigators had learned that the child was in her stepmother’s care while at the park.
“We felt there was enough evidence to show the child was in her care at the time, and the child was put in a situation that endangered her life or health,” Joe Haywood, a Department of Natural Resources officer, said of the stepmother.
Jail records show that Hollingsworth was being held on a $75,000 cash bond, and faces charges of neglect of a dependent.
The department said they were gathering more information on the 5-year-old’s death.
The search, 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis, involved boats, sonar, and divers from multiple agencies.
Vincennes is in Knox County along the Indiana-Illinois border, two hours southwest of downtown Indianapolis.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.