TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – Authorities suspended the search for an 11-year-old girl days after she disappeared while out on Lake Erie with a neighbor. That neighbor now faces criminal charges.
Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said Friday evening that crews have exhausted all resources in the search for the missing 11-year-old Toledo girl Angelique Cunningham. It comes after the search turned from a rescue mission to a recovery mission early Friday, as officials doubted she’d be found alive.
Sheriff Mike Navarre said Kristen Gerrie, 41, of Toledo, is being charged with endangering children in connection with the case.
Family members told WTVG that Gerrie is a neighbor. Angelique was reported to be in Gerrie’s care Wednesday night.
The two, along with a man later identified as 38-year-old Jonathan Ciha, went out for a recreational boat ride in Lake Erie, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office Captain Bobby Chromik said.
Ciha was found dead in the water Thursday morning. A boater found his body and called 911.
The deputy coroner said Ciha drowned, but the circumstances and manner of death are still under investigation.
Navarre said Angelique was missing from the boat in Lake Erie less than 15 minutes after the boat left Meinke Marina in Jerusalem Township.
It is unclear what occurred on the boat, but the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office reported that Gerrie swam to shore.
She was questioned by authorities on Thursday, the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office said.
It’s unclear what information she provided to investigators. The sheriff’s office said Gerrie was the girl’s babysitter, but Angelique’s family described her as a neighbor.
The boat the three were in was recovered near West Sister Island on Thursday.
Gerrie was arrested at a home in Toledo at 4 p.m. on July 3. She is being held on a $50,000 bond.
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