Emma Sweet’s dad, Jeremy Sweet has reportedly given investigators many different versions of events concerning how the truck got into water
Two-year-old girl’s body was discovered in a lake after her father was pulled from his submerged truck.
On Sunday afternoon, tragedy struck when Emma Sweet was found dead in the White River, Indiana near Columbus.
The body was found two and a half miles downstream from the spot where her father, Jeremy Sweet, was found.
“We had the resources we needed to locate this girl, Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said in a statement.
“Although my heart goes out to the family and friends, there’s a bit of comfort knowing that we have her now.” Jeremy, 39, and Emma, two, were both reported missing on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday).
Just before 6am on Friday, duck hunters found Sweet’s truck submerged in the east fork of the White River in Bartholomew County and alerted police.
He was found alive inside the truck but Emma was nowhere to be found.
Jeremy Sweet was transported to a hospital to be treated for hypothermia while authorities continued to scour the surrounding area in search of Emma.
He was reportedly found with a needle and drug paraphernalia on him inside the truck.
Sheriff Myers said that Jeremy Sweet has changed his story at least twice regarding what happened.
Jeremy Sweet, who was reportedly out on bond for “possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as well as possession of methamphetamine,” initially told police that Emma wasn’t with him when he crashed into the water, but later offered a conflicting account.
“When we first made contact with him yesterday morning it was that he had dropped Emma off [before crashing] … Right after that he says she was on the hood of the car of his vehicle her coat was wet, so he took the coat off and that’s where she got swept away,”Myers spoke Saturday.
“There are really three stories now and none of them match.”
“It’s a bittersweet day and what I mean by that is, I’m very proud of the men and women that went out and did what they did on a holiday weekend, but my heart goes out to the family,” Myers said.
Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police Sergeant told the media divers had been in water during all three days for the search Emma. He added that the tragic discovery her body had had a profound emotional effect on his crews.
“It’s very emotional for those guys. They all have families.” he said.
“It’s hard for us to distance ourselves from that situation when you’re dealing with the loss of a child. It’s hard for those guys not to picture that being their child.”
Emma’s body has been turned over to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office to determine a cause of death.
Jeremy Sweet has been placed on a 72-hour hold at the hospital as they investigate the circumstances surrounding Emma’s death
He is reported to be in a critical condition as of Sunday evening.
