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Body believed to be missing 5-year-old Darnell Taylor found in sewer, Ohio police say

Ohio police recovered a body believed to be that of missing 5-year-old Darnell Taylor in a sewer drain early Friday morning, authorities said.

"We have some very unfortunate news to share," Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant said at a morning news conference. "This is a tragic development and we certainly hoped for a different outcome."

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  Darnell Taylor  Columbus Police

On Thursday at 9:38 p.m., Ohio police officers were dispatched on reports of a woman "walking suspiciously" around a building in a nightgown, Bryant said. Officers identified the woman as the boy's foster mother, 48-year-old Pammy Maye, and took her into custody, Bryant said. 

Maye was transported to a hospital in the Cleveland area for medical treatment. Columbus investigators responded and after interviewing her investigators were alerted to the fact that the body of the 5-year-old might be located in a sewer.

Police found the body shortly after 1:00 a.m. Friday in a drainage sewer, Bryant said. 

The boy went missing on Wednesday, according to a 911 call police shared with reporters on Thursday at a press conference, reported CBS affiliate WBNS.  A man alleged on the call that his wife told him "she had just killed our foster child." 

A statewide AMBER Alert was issued in an effort to locate the child.

Bryant said on Friday that law enforcement had spoken to Darnell's biological family. 

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