A California manhunt is underway for a suspect after the body of a missing eight-year-old girl was found in his home and his girlfriend, the child’s mother, was arrested for obstruction of justice and child abuse.
The grim discovery was made when police issued a search warrant around 2 p.m. Friday at the home of 34-year-old Dante Jackson in the 500 block of Barclay Way in Merced, according to the Los Angeles Times, days after Sophia’s relatives Mason informed the police. in Hayward that they had not heard or seen the girl since December.
Mother Samantha Johnson, 30, was arrested Thursday on a warrant stemming from a child abuse investigation in Alameda County last year, the Merced Police Department said. According to the Times, she was sent to Santa Rita Jail by Hayward Police. She will be transferred to the Merced County Jail to face charges.
Johnson’s statements in custody led police to the Merced home, ABC 30 reports.
The body of allegedly missing eight-year-old Sophia Mason pictured was found in Merced, California, at the home of Dante Jackson, 34, 34, on Friday.
Mother Samantha Johnson, 30 (left), was arrested Thursday on a warrant stemming from a child abuse investigation in Alameda County last year — her statements to police led to a search of the home of her boyfriend, 34-year-old Dhante Jackson (right) where the body of a young girl was found
Investigators believe Jackson fled after news spread of a search of his home on Barclay Way in Merced, pictured.
The Merced Police Department is working to confirm that the body belongs to the missing eight-year-old and has not yet released a cause of death.
Sophia Mason (pictured) was reported missing by her family in December.
Investigators believe that Jackson fled after news spread that his home had been searched.
The Merced Police Department is working to confirm that the body belongs to the missing eight-year-old and has yet to release a cause of death.
Sophia’s aunt, Emerald Johnson, wrote on Instagram that she was trying to get custody of the child because her sister is “a drug addict and a sex addict”, “a very sick person and has not been on medication for several years.”
She said that the child’s grandmother took care of her until the end of last year, because the girl’s mother suffered from schizophrenia. [and] bipolar disorder,” and the couple lived under her roof.
After Samantha Johnson moved out of the house with Jackson, Emerald Johnson wrote that family members began noticing bruises and cuts on the young girl and reporting child protection services, which she said went unanswered.
After Samantha Johnson moved out of the house with Jackson, Emerald Johnson (pictured with Sophia) wrote that family members began noticing bruises and cuts on the young girl and contacting child protection services, which she said went unanswered.
Sophia Mason told her family members that she was “left alone in hotel rooms without food or water for the whole day” and that she “clearly lost weight dramatically,” her aunt wrote on Instagram.
“She even stated that her mom was lubricating her bruises with cocoa butter to make them disappear,” Emerald Johnson wrote in an Instagram post Friday, before the child’s body was found at Jackson’s home.
“She said she was left alone in a hotel room without food or water for the whole day, and she had clearly lost a lot of weight.”
Sophia Mason, pictured in the photo, recently lost a lot of weight, her aunt wrote on Instagram.
Emerald Johnson said her sister had been seen several times without a girl since December and told family members that she “gave the baby away”.
“Fighting for Sophia’s return is an understatement of what I went through a year ago but failed,” the aunt wrote. “Unfortunately, this could have been avoided if they had taken Sophia and returned her to our care last year.”
On Saturday, after a body was found at Jackson’s home in Merced, Emerald wrote that her heart would be “forever broken.”
“My innocent baby, my baby, I’m so sorry that this happened to you, I wish you were with me Sofia, I’m so sorry that I tried everything to get to a home where you were appreciated,” she wrote in tribute.
has reached out to Emerald Johnson and the Merced Police Department for additional comment.
Neighbors at Jackson’s home were in disbelief after the body was discovered.
“At first we thought she was missing because they didn’t tell us anything,” Diamond Johnson, who has nothing to do with Emerald and Samantha Johnson, told ABC 30. “It could have been anyone. It hurts. I cried because of her, and I don’t even know her.”
“My innocent baby, my baby, I’m so sorry that this happened to you, I wish you were with me Sofia, I’m so sorry that I did everything to get into a house where you were appreciated,” Emerald Johnson, the girl’s aunt, wrote in tribute
Emerald Johnson said her sister had been seen without Sophia several times since December and told family members that she “gave the baby away”.
On Saturday, after a body was found at Jackson’s home in Merced, Emerald wrote that her heart would be “forever broken.”
A young mother who lives nearby and took her daughter to light candles in front of the house said it was “a misnomer… to think we are liberated… in our community.”
“It’s here, it’s present, and it’s not a question of guilt or the danger of the situation, it’s an inevitable fear,” she told the publication.
Other neighbors said they “never saw anyone in the house,” the publication reported.
GoFundMe for Child Funeral Expenses has raised almost $2,500 of a planned $50,000 since it launched today.
“Sofia, I’m so sorry the system let you down,” wrote Adriana Ramos, Emerald’s friend who started the fundraiser.
“I hope you knew how much you are loved, your aunt stood up for you and did not give up. I hope you are somewhere as beautiful as your sweet angel.