CHICAGO (CBS) – Chicago police were conducting a death investigation after a toddler’s body was found in south suburban Riverdale this weekend, a day after she was reported missing from the Bronzeville neighborhood.
Around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Riverdale police were called about a child’s body found in a wooded area near 140th and Normal. She was pronounced dead at the scene a few hours later.
CBS 2’s Courtney Gousman reports police confirmed Monday afternoon the girl was 1-year-old Ameriah Roberson, who was reported missing a couple hours after the body was found.
Earlier, police said Ameriah had been reported missing from the 3500 block of South Rhodes Avenue. Preliminary information indicated she had been with an adult who walked away for a brief moment, then returned to find the child missing, police said.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office says an autopsy rules the death a homicide, saying it was a result of a subdural hematoma.
The girl’s parents were being interviewed by Area South police Monday afternoon. It was not clear why the child was not reported missing until after the body was found.
In Calumet City, family gathered to grieve where the toddler lived with her mom and grandma.
“She will be truly missed and loved,” said Bernadette Madison, Ameriah’s grandmother.
