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An Indianapolis woman has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of her infant daughter, three years after first reporting the child missing.
Amber Robertson, 23, was arrested by Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies on Saturday and charged with neglect in the case of her missing daughter, Amiah. Robertson first reported the 8-month-old girl missing in 2019. Authorities have yet to locate her.
Robertson is facing four preliminary felony charges, according to local news station WTHR. These include neglect of a dependent and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. Robertson's boyfriend and longtime suspect in the case, Robert Lyons, was also charged with neglect in the case as a result of a grand jury indictment, but authorities have so far been unable to find him.
According to court documents obtained by local outlets, the grand jury indictment claimed that Robertson "knowingly placed her 8-month-old daughter Amiah Robertson in a situation that endangered her life or health, and/or 'abandoned or cruelly confined' the girl, and/or deprived her of 'necessary support' which resulted in serious bodily injury."
The exact details of what they allegedly did with the child are unknown at this time.
The 8-month-old was last seen while she was allegedly being dropped off at a babysitter on March 9, 2019. Robertson filed a missing person report a week later on March 16 and by March 23, law enforcement was treating the case as a homicide investigation. The babysitter that the child was reportedly taken to has been interviewed by authorities.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) said following the arrest that the case remains ongoing and stressed that further charges are possible.
"At this point, we still have not found the body," prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement, according to WRTV News. "If we're in a position where we are able to locate the baby...nothing precludes us from adding additional charges. The charging information very clearly lays out the theory that was presented in the sense that, if you have care of a child and you assume that responsibility, then ultimately you are responsible for what happens with that child—and I think the charging information and the grand jury indictment reflects that."
In 2019, Lyons provided authorities with a list of locations that Amiah could have been at the time. Following an investigation, she was not found at any of the provided locations, with some seemingly having been fabricated by Lyons. Robertson previously said she handed off the child to Lyons so that he could take her to the babysitter. Lyons' relationship with the child is not clear at this time.
Newsweek reached out to the Marion County Sherriff's Office for comment.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more