Autopsy Planned to ID Missing Toddler

Otis, Ind. - Police believe they've found the remains of 2-year-old Jada Justice in rural LaPorte County, nine days after her cousin reported her missing from a gas station in Gary.

Criminal charges are likely to be filed Friday against two people being held in connection with the girl's death. Police announced the developments at a Thursday evening press conference at Hobart City Hall in Hobart, Ind., while family and friends of the girl sobbed in the audience.

"We feel very comfortable that we do, in fact, have Jada Justice," Lake County, Ind., Prosecutor Bernard Carter said.

However, police won't be certain until a forensic autopsy is performed on the remains. LaPorte County, Ind., Coroner John Sullivan said he transported the body to the Lake County Coroner's office, where the autopsy is scheduled for this morning.

Sullivan said he took the body to Crown Point, Ind., personally after it was recovered just after noon. Carter wouldn't confirm the location of the discovery, saying only that the body was found in LaPorte County west of U.S. 421.

Hobart Police and FBI officials could be seen driving to and from a crime scene Thursday on Snyder Road in LaPorte County between U.S. 421 and Otis Road. Police blocked access to the road for most of the day.

Hobart police were seen leaving the area at 4:30 p.m., shortly before the press conference.

Carter said the body is believed to be Justice because of the information that led police to it. However, he gave few details about what that information was, the condition of the body, who is in custody and whether further arrests are being planned. The investigation, he said, is still ongoing.

"We are very limited as to what we can say," Carter said.

Engelica Castillo, Justice's 18-year-old cousin, reported her missing June 16. She told police she left Justice in her car while she went to buy a gallon of milk from a gas station on Ridge Road in Gary, Ind. When she returned, Castillo told police, Justice was gone.

Police started questioning Castillo's story publicly last week. She was watching Justice while Melissa Swiontek, Justice's mother, was away on a trip.

Neither Castillo, nor her live-in boyfriend, 24-year-old Timothy Tkachik, have been cooperative, police said.

According to the Post-Tribune's archives, a Barry Tkachik shot and killed his wife, Michelle Tkachik, and her sister, Jean Dakin, in 2003 before turning the gun on himself. The shooting took place in a home on Division Road, minutes from the site of Thursday's search on Snyder Road. The couple had a 17-year-old son named Tim.

Police circulated a photograph of Justice, Castillo and Tkachik last week. In Tkachik's photograph, he appears to have burns on his face. Carter declined to talk about the injury at Thursday's press conference.

Police searched Castillo's neighborhood and the area near the gas station multiple times as the investigation into Justice's disappearance began. They also searched Castillo's home.

Angie Balboa, a family friend, said after Thursday's press conference "everybody kind of knew" that police were unlikely to find Justice alive. She said Castillo and Tkachik could have saved the family a great deal of grief by telling the truth when Justice first went missing.

"I'm so sorry for Jada Justice," Balboa said.

Upon learning the news, Gary Mayor Rudy Clay said he planned reach out to Justice's family. He said the hearts of the people of Gary were "crying out" for her safe return.

"Our hearts are still crying because of what happened to her," Clay said.

A massive search for Justice began three weeks ago after her babysitter reported that she was missing.

Eugelica Castillo, the cousin of Justice’s mother, had been watching Justice since June 8th while her 27-year-old mother was on a trip. Initially, Castillo told police that while babysitting Justice, she left the toddler in her unlocked car in a gas station parking lot to get some milk. When she came back, the little girl was gone.

A team of two dozen police from Hobart and Gary, and FBI agents worked around the clock , exploring tips flowing into a special FBI toll-free number.

Initially, the family admitted to have doubts on the sitter's story.

Castillo's mother has filed a police complaint against Justice's father .