The father of missing Texas toddler Sherin Mathews has changed his story after two weeks of telling police she vanished in the middle of the night after he left her outside. According to an arrest warrant obtained Tuesday by ABC-affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas, Wesley Mathews told police that the 3-year-old choked on milk in the early morning of Oct. 7 and that he “believed she had died.”

Wesley Mathews, Sherin's adoptive father, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree felony injury to a child. He was previously arrested for endangering a child based on his earlier statement but was released after posting bond.

After more than two weeks of searching for Sherin, police found the body of a young child in a drainage ditch Sunday near the Mathews home. Investigators said the body was “most likely” that of Sherin’s, but that they were waiting on an official confirmation. After the body was discovered, Wesley Mathews voluntarily arrived at the police station and provided an “alternate statement” as compared to what he told investigators previously.

“When they came in, they provided us with some information that was contrary to what we had previously been told regarding her disappearance,” said Richardson Police Sgt. Kevin Perlich, according to WFAA. “It was not what he told us originally.”

Mathews originally told police he placed the girl outside as punishment at 3 a.m. and when he went back 15 minutes later, she was gone. He said he then conducted a short search on his own before going back home. Authorities became suspicious when they realized it took him five hours to alert police and that he did a load of laundry in the hours between. Police also said the family car was missing for an hour at about 4 a.m.

In his recent statement, Mathews gave a different version of events. He said he “physically assisted” Sherin in drinking her milk after she refused to do so on her own.

"Wesley Mathews advised to Detective ... he had been trying to get the 3-year-old girl to drink her milk in the garage," the arrest warrant stated, according to WFAA. "Wesley Mathews said she wouldn't listen to him. Eventually, the 3-year-old girl began to drink the milk. Wesley Mathews then physically assisted the 3-year-old girl in drinking the milk. The 3-year-old girl began to choke. She was coughing and her breathing slowed. Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse on the child and believed she had died. Wesley Mathews then admitted to removing the body from the home."

Mathews remained in custody at Richardson City Jail, his bond set at $1 million. The first-degree felony he was charged with carries up to life in prison. Sherin’s mother, Sini Mathews, faced no charges in the case, according to reports. Police said they were still waiting on official confirmation Tuesday to determine whether the body discovered belonged to Sherin. A cause of death had not yet been released.

“The indications are that it is most likely her,” Perlich said Sunday, according to CBS-affiliate KTVT in Dallas. “However, we have not had a positive ID. So until we have a positive identification we are not gonna say that it is Sherin.”

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