(Image source from: Heavy.com)

The 25-year-old Indian American woman accused of fleeing with a toddler named Nalani Johnson has alleged that the kid’s father told her to deliver Nalani another woman because he had “sold” his daughter, authorities said.

After a prolonged search by over 60 people, Nalani Johnson found dead early Tuesday afternoon in the area of an Indiana County park.  

Sharena Islam Nancy, who works as a driver, has been charged with kidnapping of a minor, custodial interference and concealment of the whereabouts of a child, all felonies, in the disappearance of Nalani Johnson, who will be two years old this month.

However, Nalani’s grandmother has denied the allegations of the child’s father having involvement in the kidnapping.

According to Allegheny County police, the child’s father told investigators in Penn Hills that he and a friend were riding in a car driven by Nancy on August 30 evening. When he got out of the car and was moving to get the child out of her car seat, Nancy drove off, he alleged.  

The car was located after thorough scrutiny and subsequently, Nancy was taken into custody, but neither the child nor her car seat was found.

Investigators say this is a image from a video from Sheetz in Murrysville of suspect Sharena Nancy. The video was taken on 5:25 pm on Saturday, around 30 minutes after investigators believe Nancy took off with 2-yr-old #NalaniJohnson in her car pic.twitter.com/OZOSmxFB89

— Aaron Martin (@WPXIAaronMartin) September 3, 2019

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Nancy alleges the father “sold” the toddler for $10,000 and solely on his instruction she turned the girl over to a woman at a roadside meeting. Nancy alleged that after driving 20 minutes from a Monroeville gas station, she saw a parked silver sports utility vehicle with out-of-state plates, and she gave the child to a woman standing outside the car.  

The child’s grandmother, Taji Walsh, dismissing Nancy’s allegations, told reporters that if the police thought the father was involved “he wouldn’t be walking freely - he’d be locked up like she is.”

Taji Walsh, grandmother of missing 2-year-old Nalani Johnson, speaks to the media at Allegheny County Courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. https://t.co/kbwIjQoJAy pic.twitter.com/hA1gwhDo1o

— Nate Smallwood (@nsmallwoodphoto) September 3, 2019

“It’s unbelievable,” Walsh told KDKA-TV. “This is a movie scene, and it’s my reality right now.”

Nalani’s family has launched a search for her.

By Sowmya Sangam