BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - The latest on the case of a missing girl in Florida.
The siblings of a missing Florida girl told child protective services officials that they went to school one day and never saw their 11-year-old sister again.
According to an affidavit, one of Janiya Thomas' brothers told officials that their mother often punished her because she soiled herself. He said she was kept in the bathroom for a week or more at a time. The affidavit says that when asked what he thought happened to his sister, the boy told officials he thinks "she is dead or something."
The siblings were interviewed after authorities went to their mother's Bradenton apartment to take custody of them last Friday. They couldn't find Janiya Thomas and her 31-year-old mother, Keishanna Thomas, refused to answer questions about her whereabouts.
A judge ordered Thomas held on contempt charges and on Monday, she was also charged with child neglect. She's being held in jail on no bond. It's unclear whether she has an attorney.
Child protective services records indicate the girl was last physically seen on June 9, 2014.
