John Bogna
Crossed details are repeatedly cropping up regarding the disappearance of Sherin Mathews, a 3-year-old girl who police say went missing on Saturday, Oct. 7 Â after she was made to stand outside by her foster father for punishment.
Videos by Rare
The Mathews family said they originally adopted Sherin from India last year, an arrangement carried out by the NGO Mother Teresa Anath Seva Sansthan, in Nalanda.
According to the Times of India news site, the NGO is now defunct; during an interview, the org’s former secretary, Babita Kumari, said Sherin’s originally went by Saraswati.
RELATED: A Child Went Missing in a Corn Maze and Wasn’t Reported Missing Until the Next Day
Last week, attempting to teach her a lesson for behavioral issues at her Dallas-area home, Wesley Matthews ordered Sherin to stand under a tree by an alley, across the street from their house.
Fifteen minutes later, however, when he claims he went to look for her, he said he could not find his daughter; Mathews said he did a load of laundry after the discovery, but reportedly waited until morning to call her in as missing to the police.
Police say they arrested Wesley Mathews for child endangerment and abandonment the same day Sherin disappeared, and the Richardson Police Department revealed the Matthews’ SUV left their home between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the Saturday she went missing.
He is currently released on bond since, but reportedly stopped cooperating with the investigation.
Sherin’s foster mother is not facing any charges at the moment, claiming she slept while the incident took place, but, according to the Washington Post, she is also refusing to cooperate further with the investigation.
Child Protective Services, who reportedly visited the home before on an unrelated occasion, took Sherin’s other sister from the home.
According to Indian records, Sherin’s birth parents abandoned her at 1-year old, and officials said she bounced from ward to ward in India before being adopted by the Mathews family.
Wesley told Richardson Police he sent Sherin outside the night she went missing because she wouldn’t finish her meal, claiming she suffered from an eating disorder, which explains her being very underweight for her age.
Neither police, nor the volunteers who continue to search the alley and area where Sherin stood, could find evidence or signs of the child.
Police said they searched the house on Wednesday, which is when, police determined their car went missing the same morning of Sherin’s disappearance.
Police also said they searched a cemetery near the border of Richardson on an anonymous tip, but found nothing.
RELATED: After Witnessing His Father’s Murder, Authorities Fear the Worst for His Missing Teenage Son
If you would like to share any information on Sherin’s whereabouts, contact your local authorities or Houston area CrimeStoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
[anvplayer video=”4198567″]
