Missing Richardson girl's parents no longer cooperating with investigation

RICHARDSON, Texas - The parents of a missing 3-year-old Richardson girl are no longer cooperating with police.

The FBI and police collected evidence overnight at Sherin Mathews’ home. Investigators are looking through her parents’ vehicles, computers and cellphones, as well as surveillance video from neighbors.

The little girl’s father, Wesley Mathews, was arrested on child endangerment charges after he reported her missing Saturday.

Before he stopped cooperating with police, he told them he left her outside by a tree at 3 a.m. Saturday as punishment for not drinking her milk. He noticed she was gone 15 minutes later but did not call police until five hours later.

Police said Mathews went back inside the house thinking Sherin would eventually come back home.

“While he was waiting he did a little laundry and hoped that the light would come around and he could do a better check,” said Richardson PD Sgt. Kevin Perlich. “He elected to call the police shortly after 8 o'clock.”

Mathews is now out of jail on bond and wearing an ankle monitor. Police said he and his wife are working with different attorneys. She told police she was asleep when her daughter went missing.

The couple’s other 4-year-old daughter is in the custody of a family friend. Child Protectives Services said it has dealt with the family before but would not elaborate.

A lot of people have asked why the little girl was drinking milk at 3 a.m. Mathews told police Sherin was malnourished when they adopted her from India. They were doing feedings throughout the day and night.

“So part of the feeding thing was to build some mass and put some weight on her so it wasn't uncommon for her to have to be fed on a consistent schedule or as frequently as they could,” Sgt. Perlich said.

Police said the little girl also has disabilities that make it hard for her to communicate.

Concerned residents continued to search in the family’s neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.

“I've got magnets on the end so I can set my phone to it and I have the flashlight on and I'll run the camera and look down the pipes to see if I can see anything,” said Casey Urquhart.

Keller mom Preethi Abraham and her friend said the story is troubling.

“If they fear that somebody took this child, then as parents come out and plea for the child on that child's behalf,” she said. “It's just really hard for us to swallow this story that this little girl was disciplined for not drinking milk at 3 a.m.”