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State failed to protect Sherin: US child protection official

Houston: Authorities in Texas failed to protect Sherin Mathews when a doctor found in January that the 3-year-old Indian girl had several bone fractures and alerted them that she had been hurt at the hands of her adoptive parents, a top US child protection official has acknowledged.

Sherin, reported missing on October 7, was found dead in a culvert about 1 km from her home on October 22 by a cadaver dog during a massive search for her in suburban Dallas. The cause of death has not yet been determined by the medical examiner's office. Sherin was adopted by the Indian- American couple, Wesley and Sini Mathews, from an orphanage in India last year.
Commenting on the tragic story that grabbed international headlines, Texas Child Protective Services Commissioner Hank Whitman said he was disappointed in his agency's handling of Sherin Mathews' case and promised to get to the bottom of it.
Wesley and his wife Sini are accused of leaving their adoptive daughter, Sherin, home alone in October 6.
On October 7, Wesley called police and reported Sherin missing. He had initially told police that Sherin disappeared overnight after he ordered her to stand outside at about 3 am for not drinking her milk. When he returned, Wesley said she had disappeared and that her location was unknown.
Whitman told WFAA TV channel that has is baffled why the Child Protective Services (CPS) did not remove Sherin from the home when they received the report from the paediatrician and child abuse expert.
"That is something I cannot answer. I can tell you that it breaks my heart. I'm a cop. I mean, to have a child go outside because they didn't want to drink their milk or whatever, I mean that story was just not believable.

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