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Darrian Randle, 31, of North East, told police she had pulled over on Gender Road in Newark, Delaware, around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, to comfort her daughter, Nola Dinkens, when a white man with a gun kidnapped the girl and took off in a dark SUV.
That story was a lie, authorities now say.
After an overnight manhunt and multi-agency investigation, Maryland State Police confirmed the toddler’s remains were discovered around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday in a vacant lot in North East, the same town where the mother lives.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Maryland State Police confirmed they had recovered a body in Cecil County, and were awaiting positive identification.
“Investigators are working in coordination with the FBI and the New Castle County Division of Police,” state police said in a statement. “A body has been recovered in Cecil Co. Investigators are waiting on positive identification.”
Charges were immediately filed against Randle, who is now facing first- and second-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, and related offenses.
Randle was also charged in Delaware with felony false reporting and sent to the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution on $1,000,000 cash bail.
She remains in custody in Delaware, pending extradition to Maryland.
Also arrested: Cedrick Antoine Britten, 44, who lives at the same address in North East.
He was charged as an accessory after the fact to murder, and for failing to report a child’s death, according to the Maryland State Police.
Earlier in the investigation, the New Castle County Division of Police in Delaware said they had quickly determined that Randle’s initial account was false, and the Amber Alert was canceled.
They then turned to Maryland authorities for help at her last known address on Reams Drive in North East, where troopers encountered Britten.
Maryland investigators say evidence uncovered there led them to search a nearby vacant lot—where the grisly discovery was made.
So far, positive identification of the remains is pending autopsy results by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, but police say the body was “consistent with that of a young child.”
The arrest caps a heartbreaking 24-hour stretch that started with a mother crying foul—and ended with a homicide probe across state lines.
The investigation is ongoing.
Check Daily Voice for updates.
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