Butler County authorities have called off the search for the body of a two-year-old girl, five days after her father drove into the Walnut River.
Sheriff Kelly Herzet said the search was suspended because there was no place else to search. Since last Wednesday, authorities combed the river and along its banks, using cadaver dogs, sonar drones and helicopters to try to find the toddler.
Leon police were called last Wednesday afternoon by a mother who said her boyfriend would not bring home their two-year-old daughter. Around 6:45 p.m. that day, officers spotted 44-year-old Christopher Johnson in a field east of town and stopped to talk to him. He'd been drinking.
Sheriff Herzet said Johnson was being peaceful and communicating with officers at first.
"They were trying to tell him we need to take the child. We need to resolve this. Apparently, he didn't want to do it that way. He started the engine up and drove off with the child sitting on his lap."
Herzet said Johnson drove through a field before going off a 30-foot embankment and into the Walnut River where the pickup rolled over. Johnson's body was located in the vehicle, but Herzet said the girl must have gotten sucked out.
While the sheriff said he does not know what issues Johnson struggled with, he believes alcohol and bad decisions led to the crash and deaths.
"You know, I've never seen where a parent has driven off in the river with a child," Herzet said. "I've seen incidents where parents have killed their children, but nothing quite like what we've seen here."