The child's body found in a culvert Sunday morning has been identified as Sherin Mathews, the 3-year-old Richardson girl missing since Oct. 7.

The Dallas County medical examiner confirmed the identity with dental records. A cause of death was still pending.

Richardson police posted the update to their social media channels late Tuesday morning.

Her body was found Sunday at about 11 a.m. in a culvert underground during a search operation in the area of Spring Valley and Bowser Road.

Mathews disappeared in the early morning of Oct. 7. Her adoptive father, Wesley Mathews, initially told police he put her outside their home at 3 a.m. for not drinking her milk. He changed his story weeks later, saying she choked on milk in the garage.

"She was coughing and her breathing slowed," an arrest warrant reads. "Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse on the child and believed she had died."

Mathews then admitted to police that he removed the body from the home, the warrant reads.

Wesley is believed to be the last person to see the child. He was arrested and charged with felony endangerment to a child and was placed on electronic ankle monitoring and surrendered his passport as a condition of making bond on Oct. 9 but later bonded out. 

He was arrested again Monday after giving a conflicting account of what happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 7. He has been charged with felony injury to a child.

An Amber Alert was issued for Sherin after she went missing, but it was discontinued the following Monday.

Detectives in Richardson filed at least 30 search warrants related to the investigation. Search warrants obtained by WFAA reveal FBI detectives seized a variety of electronics from the family's home -- including five cell phones, three laptops, a tablet, and a digital camera.

The family's SUV, which disappeared during the five hours between Sherin disappearing and her father calling police, was also seized as evidence.

A vigil was held Sunday outside the location where Sherin was last seen. People brought flowers, stuffed animals, signs, and balloons.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/police-body-found-during-search-for-3-year-old-sherin-mathews/485191651