Gosport.
Police this morning were searching for a 2-year-old boy thrown off a Monroe County bridge by his uncle, officials said.
The boy's 14-year-old half sister was hospitalized with a slashed throat after she was also thrown off the bridge Thursday, police said.
Police charged Robert S. Stewart, 30, of Gosport, with attempted murder and murder. He was being held today at Monroe County Jail.
Stewart told investigators he was angry with their mother over money issues. He then took a knife from the kitchen area and cut the throat of the girl, police said. All three eventually left the home in the suspect's pickup truck.
Stewart drove the truck to bridge that crosses Bean Blossom Creek, pulled the girl out of the truck and pushed her off the bridge, police said. Stewart told investigators he then removed the boy from the truck, dropped him off the bridge and left the area.
The teenager managed to climb to the roadway where she was found by two people, said Monroe County sheriff's deputy Troy Thomas. The injured girl was found in Bean Blossom Creek near Stinesville about 6:30 p.m. Thursday
She was taken to Bloomington Hospital for two lacerations to the throat area and was in stable condition, a patient care director said. Neither injury is life threatening.
The 14-year-old girl reportedly told police that her attacker had taken the 2-year-old, and she was unsure of the toddler's whereabouts. She provided the name of her attacker, which led investigators to Stewart's residence, police said.
Owen County sheriff's deputies and Ellettsville police assisted in the search for the suspect, whose relationship to the children was not clear. Officers combed the area by car, looking for the blue and green pickup he was reportedly driving.
Near his residence, deputies found the truck he was believed to be driving, police said. They also reportedly found remnants of a recent fire behind the residence.
A canine unit was called out to track the suspect near the Owen county residence. Police found him about 10 p.m. — without the boy — and took the man into custody for questioning.
Searchers on Friday recovered the body of a 2-year-old boy believed to have been thrown off a southern Indiana bridge by his uncle.
Stewart drove the children in his pickup truck to a bridge that crosses Bean Blossom Creek and pushed the girl into the water, about 20 feet below, police said.
Stewart told investigators he then removed the boy from the truck, dropped him off the bridge and left the area.
Search crews found the body of Steven Kent Stewart Jr. about 6 a.m., partially submerged in the creek against a brush pile.