Investigators are trying to figure out what happened to a mom and her 3-year-old toddler who were both found dead more than 100 miles from their home in Mississippi. Their tragic deaths are now being treated as suspicious.
On September 22, 20225, husband and father Johnathan McGill reported his wife, Shardee McGill, 32, and child, Janae McGill, 3, missing. The mom and daughter reportedly left their home in Jackson, Mississippi, on the night of September 21 but never returned home. According to a post shared by the Jackson Police Department, no one had heard from them since the night before.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones, who is also Interim Jackson police chief, explained that the mom and toddler left together and it was not a case of “a kidnapping or a custodial kidnapping.” By Thursday, investigators had a heartbreaking update to share. Shardee’s body was found in a shallow body of water near Epes, Alabama, which is about 130 miles from Jackson, WAPT reported.
At the time, Shardee’s daughter remained missing, but on Friday, her body was found near the site where her mom’s body had been located. In an update on Facebook, Jones wrote, “The missing person alert in the case of Janae McGill-3 has been cancelled. Search team authorities in Alabama located a body earlier today in an area in close proximity to where Shardee McGill was discovered. The body was later identified as Janae.”
According to authorities, their causes of death remain unknown and the investigation is ongoing. During a press conference on Friday, Jones said, “At this particular time, it’s too early to say who’s involved, nor do we any type of suspect information regarding the investigation.”
He said the husband and father was interviewed and released. “He was questioned regarding them being missing and the vehicle being located in Alabama,” Jones explained, per WAPT, adding that authorities “don’t have any evidence at this time to lead to any type of arrest.”
