A mother and her four-year-old daughter were sadly killed in a potential kidnapping relating to human trafficking, while a six-year-old girl was rescued.
The tragic discovery was made on Thursday in Jackson, Mississippi, as a four-year-old girl was found dead and her six-year-old sister was rescued, per FOX 8.
In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Chief Jimmy Travis revealed that Callie Brunett was reported missing on Tuesday.
Her car was not at her home, leading her family to believe she was not there.
Tragically, just a day before the girls were found, their mother, 35-year-old Callie Burnett, was found dead 130 miles away in southern Louisiana.
Daniel Callihan, Burnett's boyfriend, is the prime suspect, according to WDSU reports.
Authorities discovered six-year-old Jalie Burnett alive inside a car in a wooded area of Jackson. Her younger sister, Erin, was found dead a few yards away.
“Based on the crime scene, what it looks like, this may be the place where there has been some human trafficking done,” said Joseph Wade of the Jackson Police Department at a press conference. “We see cages, small animal cages.”
Jalie was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Investigators are working to determine the cause of Erin’s death. “You don’t want to see that as a police chief. You don’t want to see that as a father,” Wade stated. “A coward took this child from her family.”
Callihan reportedly led police to the girls after a bystander reported him for acting suspiciously.
The girls’ mother, Callie Burnett, had been missing for over 24 hours before she was found “brutally murdered” in her bedroom in Loranger, Louisiana, according to authorities.
Her children were reported missing by their father on Wednesday when Burnett’s body was discovered.
Louisiana State Police stated that the children were kidnapped sometime before 8:00AM on Wednesday.
An Amber Alert was issued later that day, indicating a man was wanted for questioning in connection with a domestic violence incident that led to Burnett’s death.
The investigation is being conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Jackson Police Department, in cooperation with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
