Missing girl dead, sister rescued after “human trafficking”

A 4-year-old girl was found dead and her 6-year-old sister was rescued from a gruesome scene that may have involved small animal cages and may be linked to human trafficking, police in Mississippi said.

The gruesome scene in Jackson on Thursday came a day after the girls’ mother, 35-year-old Callie Burnett, was found murdered 130 miles away in southern Louisiana.

The main suspect is Burnett’s boyfriend Daniel Callihan, WDSU reported.

Jalie Brunett, 6, was discovered alive in a car in a wooded area in Jackson on Thursday. The body of her younger sister Erin was found just a few feet away, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office said, according to WVUE.

“Based on the crime scene, it is clear that human trafficking took place here,” said Joseph Wade of Jackson Police at a press conference. “We see cages, small animal cages.”

Julie was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment with minor injuries.

Investigators are trying to find out how Erin died.

“It’s not something you want to see as a police chief. It’s not something you want to see as a father,” Wade said.

“A coward has taken this child from his family.”

According to authorities, Callahan led police to the girls after a passerby reported him for suspicious behavior.

Burnett, the girls’ mother, was missing for more than 24 hours before she was found “brutally murdered” in the bedroom of her Loranger home on Thursday, authorities said.

Her children, who were reported missing by their father on Wednesday, were nowhere to be found when the body was discovered, police said.

According to Louisiana State Police, the children were abducted sometime before 8 a.m. Wednesday.

After noon, an Amber Alert was issued saying a man was wanted for questioning in connection with a domestic violence incident that led to Burnett’s death.

Law enforcement has not yet had a chance to interview Callahan, officials said.

The Post has contacted local authorities for further information.