© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Woman Questioned In Disappearance Of Wichita 5-Year-Old Found Dead

Tex Texin
/
flickr Creative Commons

Wichita police say that Emily Glass, questioned in the disappearance and death of 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez, was found dead early Friday morning.

Police spokesman Charley Davidson said Jonathan Hernandez -- Lucas' father and Glass' live-in boyfriend -- called police just before 2 a.m. to say his girlfriend had committed suicide. Davidson said Hernandez had just returned to the home near Kellogg and Edgemoor.

"Officers discovered a rifle at her feet and three suicide notes in the residence," Davidson said.

He said the coroner will determine the cause of Glass' death and that the investigation into her death is continuing.

Glass reported Lucas missing in February, telling police the boy was gone after she woke up from a nap.  Hernandez was out of town at the time, and Glass was watching Lucas and her daughter.

An extensive search by police and community volunteers failed to find Lucas, whose face appeared on billboards across town and on social media.

Last month Glass led a private investigator to Lucas' body, which was found in a shallow ravine in Harvey County. Glass was questioned by police and jailed on suspicion of obstruction of justice. She was released last week as police continued to investigate Lucas' death.
 
Davidson said Friday that investigation also is continuing.
 
 
Tom Shine is the director of news and public affairs. Follow him on Twitter @thomaspshine. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Tom joined KMUW in 2017 after spending 37 years with The Wichita Eagle where he held a variety of reporting and editing roles. He also is host of The Range, KMUW’s weekly show about where we live and the people who live here. Tom is an adjunct instructor in the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University.