Watch CBS News

Mother Of Missing 5-Year-Old Girl Pleads For Help

DETROIT (WWJ) - A 5-year-old Detroit girl is missing, apparently taken from her home sometime on Sunday. Right now, the child's appearance is being investigated separately from a deadly fire nearby.

WWJ's Mike Campbell went to the child's neighborhood, where he spoke to the girl's mother.

Konesha Smith told Mike that she last saw Mariha, her 5-year-old daughter, when she put her and her three younger siblings down to sleep on the floor on the first floor of their home on Burlingame in front of a fan that was in a window. She says when she woke up, the girl was missing. Police say Mariha was abducted, and there's a report out that maybe the abduction is connected to an argument the child's mother was having with a man. Smith says she doesn't think so.

"I don't know who would take my child from me," Smith said. "If you got a problem with me, I feel like you should've came to me; not take my baby from me."

Meanwhile, there was a fire in a house about a mile away on Waverly Street. Investigators found the burned body of a child; too burned to identify as a male or female.

"I know my baby, she still alive ... (some people) come told me that they seen her, so I'm gonna stick to that," Smith said through tears.

To read the breaking news story, click here.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.