The Plymouth Police Department and 11-month-old Mercedes Lain’s family are asking the public for help in finding her.
Plymouth Police Chief David Bacon gave details leading up to the initial missing child report during a press conference Tuesday morning.
“We’re looking to establish a sequence of events,” explained Bacon. “We know that Mercedes was last seen at the Economy Inn on Thursday evening. She was left in the care of Justin Miller. We were contacted on Sunday afternoon by Kenny Lain, which would be Mercedes’ father. He wanted to file a missing person report on Mercedes. That started our investigation.”
A Silver Alert was issued late Sunday night and Justin Miller, a family friend, was located in Starke County after 3 a.m. ET Monday, August 16. He was then arrested and taken to the Marshall County Jail on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent. His car was recovered as part of the investigation.
Upon further investigation, Bacon said Mercedes’ mother and father, Tiffany Coburn and Kenny Lain, have been arrested on preliminary charges of neglect of dependent and are being held in the Marshall County Jail.
Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman said the charges stem from the fact that they had a responsibility of a minor and they neglected that responsibility.
No other details of the case were provided, but Chief Bacon assured all leads are being investigated.
At this point, Chief Bacon explained they would like the public’s help in finding Mercedes Lain who was last seen wearing a white onesie with pink trim.
“We know that Mercedes was seen by various individuals in Marshall County, St. Joseph County and Starke County. We are looking to establish a sequence of events. The three people that we have in custody have spoken to investigators. All of their information does not corroborate each other so we are looking for the public’s help because our main focus is to bring Mercedes home safely,” stated Bacon.
Mercedes’ grandmother, Angela Owens, and family pleaded with the public to provide information for her safe return.
Information can be given to the Plymouth Police Department at 574-936-2126. Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward if information leads to the whereabouts of Mercedes Lain. Crimestoppers can be called at 1-800-288-STOP.
The Plymouth Police Department continues to work with the FBI, FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, Indiana State Police, Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, and the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office.
Suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
