Baby Elaina: Father Angry At Police For Mishandling Search

Baby Elaina has likely been found dead, and the father of the missing Ohio girl is irate at what appears to be the mother’s involvement and police mishandling of the case.

The 18-month-old girl disappeared from her home in Toledo, Ohio, on June 2. Her mother, Angela Steinfurth, and her boyfriend, Steven King II, claim the baby was kidnapped during a nap. In the aftermath of her disappearance, a group of family, friends, and concerned residents launched a massive search that continued for more than three months.

Steinfurth’s account of what happened to Baby Elaina changed several times throughout the investigation. At first she said Elaina disappeared during a nap, but later said Elaina woke from the nap with a black eye and broken nose, injuries she had never reported to police.

Angela was arrested June 12 for obstruction of justice, and weeks later King was arrested for making false statements.

This week it appears the search for Baby Elaina has come to an end. Investigators found “apparent human remains” inside a computer box in King’s detached garage, the last place that Elaina had been seen alive.

“We found what we believe may be Baby Elaina,” said Toledo Police Chief Derrick Diggs.

An autopsy was scheduled for Friday morning, but the corner said it could take several weeks to make a positive identification.

After the grim discovery, Baby Elaina’s father, T.J. Steinfurth, said he was “irate.”

“It’s hard to be optimistic now,” he said.

Steinfurther later added that he was frustrated that previous searches of the home failed to turn on Baby Elaina’s body.

“I’m upset with the whole situation and really don’t know how to feel right now,” he told People magazine.

Diggs said he didn’t think police dropped the ball in the search for Baby Elaina, but instead were thrown off by false leads and misinformation from the girl’s mother and stepfather.