SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating after an 11-month-old girl was found in the canal in Wichita located a man wanted in connection with the case and have him in custody.
Just after 11a.m. Wednesday morning, 34-year-old Vincent Perez was booked into the Sedgwick County jail on requested charges of endangering a child, aggravated battery and a parole violation, according to online jail records. Police have not reported the relationship between Perez and the baby.
Just after 1p.m. Tueday, police were dispatched to conduct a welfare check in the vicinity of Interstate 135 and Pawnee in Wichita after receiving a report of a child in the canal, according to Officer Kristopher Gupilan.
Officers, with the assistance of the Wichita Fire Department, located the child within the canal. She was safely extracted from the canal and transported to a local hospital for precautionary medical evaluation and later placed into police protective custody, according to Gupilan.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding how the child ended up in the canal is continues.
Police believed Perez had information pertinent to the investigation. On Tuesday night, police asked the public for assistance in locating him for questioning. He is now in jail.
Perez has previous convictions for theft, aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, criminal possession of a weapon and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.