Police hold father found alive in submerged truck after toddler’s body recovered from river days later

The search for a missing toddler in Indiana ended four days after she was last seen alive with her father, authorities said.

On Nov. 24, Jeremy Sweet, 39, was confirmed to be with his 2-year-old daughter, Emma Sweet — but the pair vanished.

Two days later, on Nov. 26, duck hunters reported finding Sweet’s truck submerged in the White River in Barthlolomew County, Indiana, WLWT reported.

“Prior to us being called to that scene, the mother had filed a missing persons report on both Emma and Jeremy on Thanksgiving Day,” Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said.

Sweet was inside the vehicle alive and suffering hypothermia, but rescuers did not locate Sweet's girl in the vehicle.

A diver later found what is believed to be Emma’s jacket downstream, and her body was located and recovered three miles away from the truck on Nov. 28.

Authorities are keeping Sweet in custody on a 72-hour hold without bond. An autopsy was scheduled to determine his daughter's manner and cause of death.

“The common goal and most important goal was to find Emma and bring her home to her family,” Sheriff Myers said. “Now the investigation continues as to how Emma got there.”

Investigators have not indicated how the truck ended up in the river, and Sweet allegedly gave multiple versions of events about what happened.

“When we first made contact…it was that he had dropped Emma off [with someone],” Sheriff Myers said, according to WXIN. “Right after that he says she was on the hood of the car of his vehicle her coat was wet, so he took the coat off and that’s where she got swept away.”

He added of the alleged multiple claims that “none of them match.”

According to the sheriff, investigators allegedly found a needle and drug paraphernalia on Sweet, WXIN reported.

At the time of the incident, the sheriff said, Sweet was out on bond for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, and possession of methamphetamine.

Myers called locating the child’s body a “bittersweet day,” explaining, “I’m very proud of the men and women that went out and did what they did on a holiday weekend, but my heart goes out to the family.”

Anyone who had contact with Jeremy or Emma Sweet between Nov. 24 and Nov. 28 is asked to contact the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department at (812) 379-1650.