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Columbus dad facing charges after daughter's body found in river

Duck hunters spotted the father’s truck at about 6 a.m. Friday.
Duck hunters spotted the father’s truck at about 6 a.m. Friday.

The father of a 2-year-old girl whose body was found in a debris field in the East Fork of the White River was charged Wednesday with felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

Jeremy Sweet, 39, of Columbus was also charged with unlawful possession of a syringe and being a habitual offender, Bartholomew County Sheriff Matthew Myers said.

READ MORE: Body of missing 2-year-old girl found in Indiana river

Sweet has been held without bond in the Bartholomew County Jail since Monday after being hospitalized for hypothermia and frostbite following his discovery Friday morning in his submerged truck by duck hunters.

Sweet and his daughter, Emma, were last seen together in his pickup Nov. 24 and were reported missing by family members the following day. Emma was  found Sunday morning in the river about 2.5 miles downstream from where the truck was found. Results of an autopsy on her are not expected for four to six weeks.