Amid an ongoing search for a missing and endangered 4-year-old girl in west Tennessee who went missing from her family’s home early Thursday, police announced early Friday officers had discovered human remains near her home.
According the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) the child, Sequoia Samuels was reported missing on Thursday from her home in Memphis’s Uptown area just north of downtown.
According to the Memphis Police Department, the remains − which have not been identified − were found just before midnight Thursday in a residential area several blocks north of Uptown, where the girl disappeared from her home.
A man and a woman were detained, police said in announcing the discovery of remains.
“As a parent, my heart aches with this information,” police Sgt. Louis Brownlee told local outlet WREG. “We just ask the community to wrap their arms and pray for this family as they go through these troubled times.”
When reached by USA TODAY Thursday morning, Memphis police did not release additional details about the human remains found.
The TBI could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Coroner will work to identify person and cause of death
According to a tweet from Memphis police, the investigation remains ongoing.
A medical examiner is expected to work to identify who the remains belong to and the person’s cause of death.
‘Last seen walking the streets alone’
Samuels, described by Memphis police as 3-feet tall with a feeding tube on the left side of her stomach, was captured on a nearby doorbell camera in her neighborhood walking the streets alone about 3 a.m.
Her mother reportedly called the police around 6:30 a.m. when she discovered her daughters missing.
At a Thursday evening press conference, Memphis Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Louis Brownlee told reporters the search radius had increased to a mile in each direction, and officers had not found any evidence to suggest Samuels was kidnapped, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
MPD Public Information Officer Theresa Carlson said there is still no indication that Samuels did anything other than walk away.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Memphis police or the TBI.
‘She touched everybody’s heart’
Just after 2 p.m. local time Thursday, Samuels’ aunt and uncle spoke to press. The Rev. Mattie Brown, Samuels’ aunt, said the family is “not [doing] well at all,” but said the support from family and community groups has meant a lot to them.
Samuel Bass, Samuels’ uncle, said the four-year-old was “an angel” who smiled often.
“She’s very curious, but she’s an angel. She touched everybody’s heart,” he said.
Contributing: Michaela A Watts and Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
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