Police said this missing girl wasn't in danger. They found her body in a suitcase
In March, the Richmond Police Department asked for help locating 37-year-old Travis Plummer and his toddler daughter, Te’Myah.
The Police Department wrote on Facebook that the father-daughter duo went missing — but added that “detectives do not believe the two are in danger.”
“We would like to hear from whomever may be caring for Te’Myah Plummer, probably a family member,” Major Crimes Sgt. Frank Scarpa said in the statement. “We need to confirm that she is safe.”
Officers in New Jersey found Te’Myah dead and stuffed inside a pink suitcase on April 11, according to NorthJersey.com. Her cause of death is under investigation, police say, but it’s believed the young girl died outside of the state.
She would have turned 2 in May, NorthJersey.com reported.
According to NBC New York, police say they believe that Te’Myah, found near train tracks in Jersey City, had been dead for multiple days before she was discovered. The girl’s body was swaddled in a blanket, completely dressed and showed no signs of physical abuse.
FBI agents found Travis Plummer in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and arrested him on April 19. Officers began to search for the man after discovering the remains of his child, according to WABC.
He faces a charge of desecrating human remains and will be extradited back to New Jersey.
At first, the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office looked at the remains and said that they belonged to a child who was about 10 months old, NorthJersey.com reported. But they were discovered to be Te’Myah’s body after a DNA test.
Sources told NBC that the startling incident “rattled” experienced homicide detectives.
In another case, police in Flint, Michigan, say a 26-year-old mother stuffed two of her children in a suitcase and threw them away like “trash.” She then allegedly ran away from officers, who were there to help Child Protective Services take custody of her children.
The woman, who remains unidentified, had up to five children in the house at the time. One child was wrapped in a blanket and carried out of the house by a first responder.
This story was originally published April 24, 2018 at 5:35 AM with the headline "Police said this missing girl wasn't in danger. They found her body in a suitcase."