SAN FRANCISCO (AP):
THE UNITED States Coast Guard resumed searching for two missing children yesterday, a day after their mother allegedly threw them into San Francisco Bay near Fishermen's Wharf. The body of a third sibling was recovered.
The mother, Lashaun Harris, 23, of Oakland, California, was booked on three counts of murder and three counts of assault on a child with great bodily injury, according to Susan Fahey, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Sheriff's Department.
She remained in custody early yesterday with no court date set, Fahey said. Harris' children were identified as Trayshaun Harris, 6, Travante Greely, 2, and Joshua Harris, 1.
A child's body was found about four hours after a witness reported seeing a woman drop the children into the bay on Wednesday near Pier 7, said Jonathan Guerra of the U.S. Coast Guard. The body was not immediately identified.
While rescuers searched for the children Wednesday night, an empty stroller was visible on the pier. A small inflatable Coast Guard boat hugged the waterfront as rescuers used hand-held flashlights to search under the pier. Larger Coast Guard and San Francisco police boats searched the water with high-powered flashlights.
'VOICES TOLD HER'
Mayor Gavin Newsom came to the scene to get briefed by authorities, telling reporters, "I'm sick to my stomach," before leaving.
Lashaun Harris told authorities that voices had told her to throw her children into the water, the Chronicle reported. It was not immediately known whether she had an attorney.
Asia Powell, who identified herself as Harris' cousin, said Harris was taking medication for a mental illness.
"I know that she would never hurt her kids," she told a television station. "I know that."
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