Missing 6-year-old rescued after 4-year-old sister and mother found dead

A missing 6-year-old girl was found Thursday near the body of her 4-year-old sister in Mississippi, authorities said, after the girls' mother was found dead in their Louisiana home.

The body of the girls' mother, Callie Brunett, 35, was discovered in Loranger, a town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. The same day she was found, Daniel Callihan, 36, was arrested across the border in Jackson, Mississippi, on suspicion of killing Brunett and kidnapping Jalie Brunett, 6, and Erin Brunett, 4, said Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards.

Investigators believe Callihan killed Brunett and took the girls on Wednesday, Edwards said in a statement. press conference Friday evening. Brunett's parents reported her missing Wednesday evening, he said.

Callihan was arrested Thursday after a brief chase, authorities said, according to WDSU, local NBC affiliate.

Edwards said Callihan led investigators to a wooded area, where they found 6-year-old Jalie alive near Erin's body.

Callihan had lived in Tangipahoa Parish and had an on-and-off relationship with Brunett, Edwards previously said: according to WDSU.

There is no reason to believe Callihan is the father of the two girls, Edwards said Friday evening.

Brunett's car, which was also missing from his home, was detected by a license plate reader in Jackson, authorities said. Investigators said they found Callihan after receiving a report of a man trying to enter several homes, WDSU reported.

Edwards said Callihan should be charged with first-degree murder for the death of Callie Brunett, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and armed robbery. He said authorities in Mississippi have said they also plan to charge Callihan with the murder of Erin Brunett.

A woman investigators believe to be an accomplice of Callihan's was arrested Friday at a south Jackson motel, Edwards said.

Victoria Cox, 32, is expected to be charged with crimes committed in Mississippi and Louisiana, said Edwards, who declined to specify the exact nature of those charges but said she and Callihan had recently been “intimately involved”.

It is unclear whether the eldest daughter was injured. She was hospitalized before being picked up by her grandparents, who took her home to Louisiana, US Marshals said: according to WPAT.

Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said it was unclear why Callihan was in south Jackson, but he said the investigation was ongoing, including whether Callihan's home Jackson near where the girls were found had been used by human traffickers.

Edwards said Friday that he was not aware of any information to support Wade's speculation that human trafficking played a role in the case.

The FBI joined the multistate investigation alongside local law enforcement, the agency said in a statement. Friday, calling the killings an “unspeakable tragedy.”

Callihan is currently being held in the Rankin County Jail in Mississippi.