Sacramento County sheriff's detectives are investigating the possibility that a missing toddler who hasn't been seen since April of last year was given to a mysterious woman in Reno about that same time.
Detectives continue to sort through conflicting and sometimes nonsensical statements by Dwight Stallings' mother, Tanisha Edwards, who is in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
Authorities said Edwards has told them that "Baby Dwight" is dead, that she gave the him away, and that he was kidnapped.
Edwards, 35, "has been unwilling to fully cooperate" with investigators, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos. But detectives now are following up on information that Edwards went to Reno in April or May 2011 and gave "Baby Dwight" to a woman named "Antoinette."
Authorities are seeking the public's help in identifying this woman, who has been described as a middle-aged woman of an unknown race and with a dark complexion, and her whereabouts, Ramos said. "Antoinette" allegedly has ties to, and could originally be from, northern California, he said.
Ramos said the lead is "as plausible as anything else we have."
If he is still alive, "Baby Dwight" turns 2 years old this month. But investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the baby is dead, Ramos said.
Elk Grove police arrested Edwards in April on suspicion of violating probation and being under the influence of drugs. At the time of her arrest, officers found she had an oustanding warrant for failing to produce a child when ordered to do so.
Since then, officials with the Sheriff's Department and Child Protective Services have been searching for the baby, but with no success.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115.
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