Authorities: Body of missing toddler found in Illinois home

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) - The body of 1ˆ½-year-old girl has been found in a home in a northern Illinois city following days of searching by hundreds of volunteers and police who had hoped to find her alive.

Sheriff's deputies and FBI agents discovered Semaj Crosby around midnight Wednesday at the home in Joliet, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Thursday. The statement did not explain who lived in the home or Semaj's relationship to them.

The Associated Press left a message seeking additional information from investigators.

An autopsy was planned Thursday.

Semaj was reported missing late Tuesday. Authorities said her mother last saw the toddler in the front yard of their home in Joliet Township, a community about 40 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

Will County Sheriff's Lt. Jason Elledge said Wednesday that the toddler had probably wandered off and "possibly went into hiding and fell asleep." Authorities said foul play was not suspected and hundreds of volunteers and police searched the area for Semaj, including in a pond in the Sugar Creek subdivision.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services last month opened two investigations into the mother for allegations of neglect. Spokeswoman Veronica Resa said DCFS personnel had been at the home shortly before the girl was reported missing.