Body of missing Ohio boy found in sewer drain

Published 2:47 pm Friday, February 16, 2024

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio woman who disappeared with her 5-year-old foster son was found Thursday wandering the streets of a Cleveland suburb.

When asked by police where the boy was, she directed them to a sewer drain where officers found his body.

Now the foster mother will face a murder charge, police said.

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Columbus police said Pammy Maye, 48, was taken into custody shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday in Brooklyn, a Cleveland suburb about 150 miles from her home in Columbus.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said officers found Maye wandering in a nightgown and she told investigators where they could find Darnell’s Taylor’s body. It was recovered shortly after 1 a.m. Friday.

Police said Maye was being evaluated Friday at a Cleveland-area hospital and will remain in custody. Court records did not show if she has retained an attorney or when she will appear in court.

Maye, who also faces kidnapping and child endangerment charges, was last been seen at her home around 3 a.m. Wednesday, around the time her husband called 911, saying Maye had told him the child was no longer alive.

The husband said he had searched the home before calling police and did not find the child.

According to court records, Maye held her hand over her husband’s mouth when he tried to make the 911 call, saying she “had a plan.”

Maye then abruptly left the home, authorities said, and an Amber Alert for her and the child was issued two hours later.

Her vehicle was then found unoccupied around 6 a.m. Wednesday in Brooklyn.

Maye had been the boy’s foster mother since May 2023. The child’s biological family was notified about the boy’s death and Maye’s arrest.