Sherin Mathews vanished last Saturday.
Police in Texas are searching for a 3-year-old who disappeared after her father allegedly put her out of the house as punishment for not drinking her milk.
Wesley Mathews, 37, allegedly took his 3-year-old adopted daughter, Sherin Mathews, outside their Richardson home at 3 a.m. Saturday to discipline her, police said. He reportedly told her to stand near a large tree in their backyard, but when he went outside 15 minutes later, the 3-year-old was gone.
Mathews admitted to police that he knew coyotes had been seen in the alley where he left her, Dallas News reported.
Richardson police said they weren’t called to the home until five hours after the toddler vanished.
Police then issued an Amber Alert for the 3-year-old, who they said has developmental issues and limited verbal communication skills.
Sherin is thought to be in “grave or immediate danger," reports said.
"Why was the last sighting at 3 o'clock and the parents not call us until after 8 a.m.? That's the question we want answered as well," Richardson police spokesman Kevin Perlich told NBC5. "As far as why she was out there, how long she was out there — [those are] the questions we have for the parents."
Mathews was arrested Saturday and charged with abandoning or endangering a child, police said.
Officers said they and other volunteers went door-to-door searching for the young girl, to no avail.
The couple had another daughter, who is 4 years old. She was removed from the home and placed in foster care, WFAA reported.
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Sherin was last seen wearing a pink top and black pajama bottoms.
Mathews was released was released from custody on Sunday after posting $250,000 bond.
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