Crime

Arrest after missing Kansas toddler found dead

/ CBS/AP

BARTON COUNTY, Kansas - The body of a missing toddler girl has been found in central Kansas and police have arrested a suspect, reports CBS affiliate KWCH.

25-year-old Chaz Stephens was booked on charges of suspected second degree murder at around 7:30 Tuesday morning. Police say that Stephens is in a relationship with two-year-old Iviona Lewis' mother, and was watching the girl in a home in Hoisington, Kansas.  

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says in an earlier news release that the girl was reported to be wearing only a diaper when she was last seen around 11 p.m. Sunday at the Hoisington home. Multiple agencies searched door-to-door for the missing girl. 

Her body was found in rural Barton County.  Police didn't specify exactly where or when the remains were found.

The KBI says formal charges won't be filed until an autopsy is completed.

Stephens was reportedly in a relationship with the girl's mother.  

First published on March 21, 2018 / 12:27 PM EDT

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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