By Minyvonne Burke—
NBC News
Police in Ohio believe they have found the body of a 5-year-old boy who had been forcibly taken by his foster mother earlier this week.
The body was found in a Franklin County drain shortly after 1 a.m. on Friday, Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant reported at a press conference.
“This is a tragic event and we expected a different outcome,” Bryant said.
Darnell Taylor.Columbus Division of Police
An Amber Alert was issued for Darnell Taylor on Wednesday after his adoptive father called police and said his wife, Pammy Maye, woke him up and
“made statements that led him to believe their son, Darnell, had been injured
. ”
according to a police notice.
Darnell had disappeared from his bedroom, the man explained in a 911 call played at a news conference Thursday.
The man claimed that his wife had taken his car and driven away.
[They investigate the discovery of a dead child in an immigrant shelter as a possible suicide]
Authorities had pleaded with Maye, 48, to let them know the boy was safe, and indicated the two may have been traveling in a Jeep.
The vehicle was located hours after the 911 call in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn.
Bryant said that around 9:38 p.m. on Thursday, Brooklyn police officers were dispatched to a business after someone reported seeing “a woman walking suspiciously around the building.”
Responding officers
identified the woman as Maye
and contacted Columbus Police.
Maye was detained and provided information to police indicating “that Darnell's body may be in a sewage drain,” Chief Bryant said.
Maye is receiving medical treatment at a local hospital and will be returned to Franklin County.
Police had charged Maye with third-degree child endangerment and first-degree kidnapping.
Bryant said Friday that he would add a murder charge.
According to police, Darnell had been fostered in the family's home since May.
Authorities have been in contact with his biological family.
Darnell's biological grandfather declined to speak to NBC News.