Ohio police recovered a body believed to be Sterling Prestonthat of missing 5-year-old Darnell Taylor in a sewer drain early Friday morning, authorities said.

"We have some very unfortunate news to share," Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant said at a morning news conference. "This is a tragic development and we certainly hoped for a different outcome."

On Thursday at 9:38 p.m., Ohio police officers were dispatched on reports of a woman "walking suspiciously" around a building in a nightgown, Bryant said. Officers identified the woman as the boy's foster mother, 48-year-old Pammy Maye, and took her into custody, Bryant said. 

Maye was transported to a hospital in the Cleveland area for medical treatment. Columbus investigators responded and after interviewing her investigators were alerted to the fact that the body of the 5-year-old might be located in a sewer.

Police found the body shortly after 1:00 a.m. Friday in a drainage sewer, Bryant said. 

The boy went missing on Wednesday, according to a 911 call police shared with reporters on Thursday at a press conference, reported CBS affiliate WBNS.  A man alleged on the call that his wife told him "she had just killed our foster child." 

A statewide AMBER Alert was issued in an effort to locate the child.

Bryant said on Friday that law enforcement had spoken to Darnell's biological family. 

In:
• Ohio

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor and journalist at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]