SUMTER COUNTY, Ala. – The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has opened an investigation into the disappearance of a mother and child, a case that has now taken a heartbreaking turn.
According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), 32-year-old Shardee McGill and her 3-year-old daughter, Janae McGill, were last seen in Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday, September 21.
On Tuesday, September 23, McGill’s vehicle, a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox, was discovered abandoned in the Epes Community of Sumter County, Alabama. ALEA’s SBI, Aviation Unit, and Marine Patrol Division immediately joined forces with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Jackson Police Department in Mississippi, MBI, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) field offices in Jackson, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, to launch an extensive search.
On Thursday, September 25, the body of an adult female was recovered from the Tombigbee River in Sumter County. The following day, Friday, September 26, a child’s body was also found in the same area of the river.
The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS) began working to confirm their identities. Later Friday, the Jackson Police Department confirmed that the child’s body was identified as 3-year-old Janae McGill. The missing person alert for her was officially cancelled.
The cause of death for both mother and child has not yet been determined, and autopsy results are pending. Authorities say this remains an active and ongoing investigation involving multiple agencies across Alabama and Mississippi.
