GAS CITY, Ind. — A 10-year-old girl reported missing Saturday in Grant County is dead and her stepmother has been arrested for murder.
The body of Skylea Carmack was found Wednesday morning inside a shed behind a Gas City home, according to Indiana State Police.
Amanda Carmack, 34, is accused of strangling Skylea and putting her body in a plastic trash bag inside the shed. She is in the Grant County Jail on charges of murder, strangulation, neglect of a dependent, and domestic battery.
State Police Sergeant Tony Slocum was asked at a press conference Wednesday if a prior search was done and if they checked the shed initially.
“It had been checked before, but you gotta remember, at the time she was reported missing, we were looking for a little girl. We had no reason to believe she had been missing at that time. It had been checked before. We’re going to look into that. Obviously, that was part of our investigation to recheck everything we had done initially until we eventually found her deceased,” Slocum said.
Slocum says police believe Amanda Carmack is the only suspect involved at this time.
Skylea was reported missing Saturday afternoon. A Silver Alert was issued Sunday by Indiana State Police.
