4-year-old Louisiana girl found dead after being abducted with her sister

A 4-year-old Louisiana girl was found dead in Mississippi on Thursday, just hours after an Amber Alert was issued for her and her 6-year-old sister, who were both taken from their home after their mother was found dead.

Four-year-old Erin Brunett and her 6-year-old sister Jalie were abducted from their home in Loranger, about 45 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, around 8 a.m. Thursday, Tangipahoa Parish Chief Deputy Jimmy Travis told reporters at a news conference.

Erin’s body was found 120 miles away in Jackson, Mississippi. She was found with her uninjured sister and the girls’ suspected abductor, Daniel Callahan, Travis said. Callahan had an “on-off relationship” with the girls’ now-deceased mother, 35-year-old Callie Brunett, according to the police chief.

It appears Erin was killed when Callahan knew police had tracked him to Mississippi, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade told WBRZ-TV.

“When he realized the police knew where he was, he tried to kill the children,” Wade said, according to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based newspaper. “Thank God one of them survived and the grandparents are on their way to Jackson, Mississippi.”

It is unclear whether Callahan already has a lawyer.

How was Daniel Callahan arrested?

According to Travis, an undercover officer noticed Callahan “checking houses” in Jackson. Although Callahan attempted to flee, the officer was able to arrest him, he added.

Once in custody, Callahan led officers to a car where Jalie was found “alive and well,” Travis said. Callahan then showed officers a wooded area not far from the car, and that’s where Erin’s body was found, the police chief said.

Detectives with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office are currently on the scene in Jackson. Early in the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office received information that Callahan was driving Callie Brunett’s vehicle in Jackson, so they were already in the area checking with local law enforcement, Travis said.

How did the search for Erin and Jalie begin?

Authorities became aware of the girls’ abduction when their mothers’ parents called the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and told them they had been unable to reach or locate their daughter, Travis said during an earlier news conference.

According to Travis, Erin and Jalie’s father went to their mother’s house in Loranger at 8 a.m. Thursday, found her body in the bedroom and called 911.

Authorities had “no reason to believe the children might still be at the scene” after searching the entire wooded area near the house, Travis said.

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