Father Charged with Toddler's Death

Nyia Miangel Page, 23 months, was reported missing from her home at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday February 3, 2007, after her brother told his parents that she was not in her bed. There were no signs that she had walked off by herself and no signs of forced entry in the house, which family said was left unlocked. An amber alert was issued and the search had begun. Dozens of volunteers braved freezing temperatures searching for the little girl. Bloodhounds were brought in and paramedics were on stand-by in case the toddler was found and in need of medical attention. Police and volunteers searched all day. Police questioned neighbors, searched dumpsters and abandoned houses and gave polygraph tests to the toddler's father, grandfather, and uncle, whom resided with the toddler. By the end of the day, no clues had surfaced and the search was called off for the night and resumed early Sunday morning.

At 3:30 p.m. Sunday February 4, 2007, Police located the toddler's frozen body on a woody knoll in an abandoned playground about 4 blocks away from the Page household. This area was on the southeastern slopes of a public housing complex near the Rankins Bridge. The location was also near two well-worn paths, which detectives had walked along during the search. A neighbor said that the paths were also used by dog walkers and children in the area. One dog walker, Claudino DeVito, who had was in the area at the time, said, "Someone from the police told me the child was wrapped in a blanket," said DeVito. "So there was a blanket there. If it's wrapped in a blanket, I couldn't see it. The dog didn't stop anywhere. It sniffed everywhere, but it didn't stop."