Updated

Police in a Dallas suburb say they've found the body of a small child not far from the home of a 3-year-old girl who's been missing since earlier this month.

Richardson police say the child's body was discovered in a culvert as authorities using dogs searched for Sherin Mathews on Sunday morning.

Her father, Wesley Mathews, has told authorities he ordered the child to stand next to a tree behind the fence at their home around 3 a.m. on Oct. 7 as punishment for not drinking her milk and she went missing. He is charged with child endangerment.

Police say the body hasn't been positively identified but that they have no reason to believe it's a different child.

No details have been released on how the child died.