The authorities in Indiana, who were looking for a missing mother and her infant daughter on March 5, made a shocking discovery when they found the baby dead in a car in freezing temperatures. The girl was found in the car with her mother who was taken to a hospital to be treated for frostbite. According to a statement by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, 36-year-old Rachel McAfee now faces a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent after her 2-year-old Emma tragically died.

The Daily Mail reported that the police officers who were performing a welfare check a little before 3 pm on March 5 found the married mom-of-two and her infant daughter inside a 2011 silver Subaru Forester which was parked in the 2600 block of Stanford Court. Emma was pronounced dead at the scene and the paramedics took McAfee to Eskenazi Hospital, where she stayed on till March 6 for treating her frostbite.

A post-mortem examination will be performed on the infant shortly to determine the cause of her death. The authorities say that the mother was preliminarily charged with neglect of a dependent causing death. The Indianapolis Star also reported that the mother "suffers from alcoholism and post-partum depression and is possibly suicidal".

Baby Emma was last spotted alive with her mother on March 4 morning. McAfee's husband John reported his wife missing that same day at 7 pm when she didn't drop off his baby daughter at his parents' home. He also said that she had missed a meeting at work.

In a press release that was put up by the authorities asking help from the public to locate the mother and baby, it was reported that McAfee was possibly suicidal. The IMPD were about to declare a Silver Alert when they received a phone call from the residents in the area reporting an unfamiliar car and requested a welfare check.

In an interview that John McAfee had done with WTHR before his wife and daughter were found, he said that his wife has been struggling with depression for some time now and hasn't been her usual self. He stressed, however, that she never threatened to do herself any harm. He said: "My biggest concern is my daughter. Obviously, she can't fend for herself… My wife's not the most fit mentally, currently, so that's a big concern."

The concerned father-of-two even remembered the last conversation that he had with his wife on March 4 and said that it was a perfectly normal conversation that didn't set alarm bells off. He said: "Just, 'Hey, babe. Love you. See you later'. Gave each other a kiss and walked out the door." After receiving the heartbreaking news, John rushed to the scene of the crime but wasn't allowed to approach the vehicle where his baby was found dead.