JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio– Nearly 24 hours after authorities began searching for a missing 5-year-old in Jackson Township, Ohio, the girl's body was discovered in the same restaurant where she was last seen.
Ashley Zhao, 5, was found dead Tuesday night inside her parents' Portage Street NW eatery, Ang’s Asian Cuisine, authorities confirmed.
Tuesday evening, Ming Ming Chen was arrested and charged with murder and felonious assault. Ashley’s father was also arrested and charged with complicity to murder and complicity to commit felonious assault.
According to a press release from Jackson Township police, it was determined that the child was found “deceased and concealed inside the building,” according to WJW-TV.
Police, with the assistance of the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation in cooperation with the Stark County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate her death.
Ashley was last seen at 5 p.m. on Monday. Jackson Township police had said they believed she wandered out the back door.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office issued a missing child alert for Ashley just before noon Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, officers used dogs to search a wooded area behind the restaurant from Portage to Mega Streets. The Jackson Township Fire Department used a drone and a ladder truck to help with the search.
This is a developing story; refresh for updates.
