Body found wrapped in blanket on Minnesota roadside believed to be abducted 2-year-old Noelani Robinson: Police
A child’s body wrapped in a blanket and found on the side of a road in Minnesota is believed to be that of Noelani Robinson, a 2-year-old girl for whom an Amber Alert was issued on Monday and whose father allegedly shot and killed her mother in Milwaukee on that same day.
The body was discovered at around 7 p.m. on Friday night by a state Department of Public Works employee who was driving home, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said during a press conference Saturday morning.
“He called this tip into the local police department ... and just off the shoulder was a blanket and wrapped in there was the body of a child. We believe it is that of Noelani,” he said.
Noelani was allegedly abducted on Monday by her father, Dariaz Higgins, 34, after he allegedly shot and killed her mother, Sierra Robinson, 24, that afternoon.
Robinson was found lying on the driveway outside an apartment building, according to police, who said that she had been shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene.
Morales said on Saturday that there would be an investigation into the death of the child, who was found 15 miles north of Austin, Minnesota, which is about 300 miles west of Milwaukee. First, however, there would have to be an autopsy.
“What we can tell is we believe this death did not occur within the last 24 hours,” Morales said. “She had been there for quite some time, which is consistent with the suspect’s time when he was in that area in Minnesota.”
Higgins was arrested by officers from the Milwaukee Police Department on Wednesday, department officials said in a statement. A second unnamed person was arrested with Higgins for “harboring and aiding a fugitive,” police said.
Morales said that an investigation will determine “where we proceed ... the types of charges we will be seeking.”
