The body of what could be a missing Maryland toddler was found in an Ohio creek on New Year's Eve, the same day the child's mother was charged for his disappearance in a bizarre case that spans several weeks, the Associated Press reported.
Searchers in the city of Columbus found what is likely the body of 14-month-old Cameron Beckford in Big Walnut Creek on the city's east side.
"Everything points to the fact that this is going to be the child we were looking for," Sergeant Rich Weiner, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, told The Washington Post. "But until we complete a positive identification through the coroner's office we can't say for sure that it is him."
The toddler's mother, Dainesha Stevens, was charged Wednesday with endangering children and tampering with evidence, the AP reported. She was being held on $75,000 bond.
Beckford was initially reported missing Sunday when his father in Maryland called police and said Stevens left with the toddler and his 6-year-old sister a couple of weeks ago and that he hasn't heard from them, The Post reported.
Mark Collins, the mother's attorney, said she likely arrived in Ohio via bus on Dec. 15 following a domestic dispute back in Maryland, the nature of which was not immediately clear.
In Ohio, the child was subjected to abuse, including severe spanking that caused the skin on his buttocks to bleed, according to police records reviewed by the AP.
On Monday, the day after Beckford's father called police, Columbus investigators were put into contact with Stevens who told them "some friends took her daughter to another location and she didn't know where it was," Weiner told The Post.
Stevens was questioned further and the 6-year-old was later found safe at a house on the city's west side.
Her son, however, was still missing. Police continued questioning the mother and she eventually said "a male acquaintance left the toddler on the doorstep of a home because they could not care for him any longer," Columbus police said.
Stevens later said she had not seen her son since last Friday, The Post reported.
The unnamed acquaintance was questioned on Monday and pointed police towards the city's east side. On Wednesday, a dive team located a toddler's body inside a duffel bag in the creek.
Stevens led police towards the creek, Collins told the AP. No further details were given.
"There's reasons why she said what she said, but she's trying to do the right thing and that's what she did by helping yesterday and today," Collins said.
