Child’s body found in Whitley Co., two arrested

WHITLEY CO. , Ky. (WYMT) - Deputies with the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department said they believe they found the body of Chloe Darnel, 4.

In a Facebook post, deputies said initial reports indicated the child may have been missing since September.

“Chloe actually hadn’t been seen for some time and that’s all we knew. Brittany had been seen but there was always an excuse on where Chloe was. She was with somebody here, she was asleep or something,” said Whitley County Sheriff Bill Elliotte.

He said that prompted a family member to call the sheriff’s office to do a welfare check.

“One of my officers received a welfare check on the welfare of a child. He started that investigation, I believe Monday night,” he explained.

After days of investigating what happened and where she could be, they found what they believed to be Darnel’s body in a grave near the Ridener Cemetery in Whitley County.

Police arrested Brittany Slaughter, 24, and Adam Hayes, 34, both of Williamsburg, in connection with Darnel’s disappearance.

Slaughter was related to Darnel and had custody of her.

Both Slaughter and Hayes were charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

The child’s body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy and official identification.

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