Mother of missing Toledo toddler arrested on child endangering charge

Angela Mories, mother of missing toddler, waits while members of The Toledo Police Dept. search near the Maumee River for Elaina Steinfurth, 1, last week.

The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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Angela Mories, mother of missing toddler, waits while members of The Toledo Police Dept. search near the Maumee River for Elaina Steinfurth, 1, last week.

The mother of missing toddler Elaina Steinfurth is in the Lucas County Jail on a child endangering charge.

Angela J. Mories, 26, was booked into the jail at 10:55 p.m. Wednesday.

The charge is a third degree felony.

She has typically been referred to in media reports recently as Angela Steinfurth.

But a birth of a girl on Dec. 20, 2011, at Bay Park Community Hospital was reported to Angela Mories and Terry Steinfurth.

Shortly before the arrest, the FBI and Toledo Police Department searched multiple homes in the 600 block of Federal Street for the missing 18-month girl, suspending the search about four hours later.

The search for Elaina at 660 Federal St. -- just blocks from where she was last seen June 2 -- started at about 5 p.m. Most investigators left the scene by 9 p.m. Three other residences alongside that home were also searched.

Elaina Steinfurth

Authorities did not comment on the search, which included a cadaver dog brought in from Geauga County Sheriff's Office, and a visit from the TPD chaplain. The dog searched a GMC Safari van parked on the street multiple times, before the van was towed away by authorities.

The home at 660 Federal St. has been vacant for years, according to authorities and neighbors. The residence is owned by Gerald and Doris Apthorpe, according to the Lucas County Auditor's Office Web site.

Kyle Lewis, who was visiting his brother's house on Federal Street, said he believes the missing girl is still alive. Mr. Lewis said he heard that authorities were searching a residence on the street because they found a “crawlspace on a blueprint.”

Kimberly Dunahoo, who lives on Federal Street, said she hopes the girl is found safe.

“It's been a horrible situation. It's heart-wrenching,” she said.

The search came just hours after Toledo police announced that they were offering a $10,000 cash reward to anyone who could provide information that leads to the girl's whereabouts. Anyone with information should call 1-800-225-5324.

The girl was reported missing after her father, Terry Steinfurth II, went to pick up his daughters from his estranged wife, who was staying at a house in the 700 block of Federal Street, and the girls' mother, Angela Steinfurth, said the younger girl was missing.