Body Of Girl, 2, Found After Passerby Spotted Blanket Off Highway

MINNESOTA — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the death of a young girl whose body was found in Steele County Friday evening. The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has preliminarily identified the victim as Noelani Robinson, 2, who had been missing from Milwaukee for several days.

The medical examiner determined the preliminary cause and manner of death to be homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head.

Authorities say Noelani Robinson was taken by a man identified by the Milwaukee Police Department as her father, Dariaz Higgins. The two were the subject of an Amber Alert in Wisconsin.

Higgins was taken into custody on Wednesday by the Milwaukee Police Department at a Milwaukee motel. He is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on suspicion of murder related the shooting death of Sierra Robinson, Noelani's mother.

A passerby reported seeing a blanket and possible remains in a ditch along Highway 218 about a mile north of Blooming Prairie, on March 15, around 6 p.m. Law enforcement from the Blooming Prairie Police Department and the Steele County Sheriff's Office responding to the scene located the child’s body wrapped in a blanket.

She appeared to have been at that location for a number of days, according to a news release.

The sheriff’s office requested that BCA conduct the investigation. BCA agents and crime scene personnel responded to the scene in Steele County and worked throughout the night to collect evidence.

In addition, early Saturday morning BCA agents and crime scene personnel executed a search warrant at a hotel in Austin, Minnesota, where it is believed Higgins stayed at one point during the past week.

When, where and who killed Noelani Robinson will be determined during the course of the BCA’s investigation, authorities said. The BCA is conducting the investigation in partnership with the Steele and Mower County sheriff’s offices and the Austin, Blooming Prairie and Milwaukee police departments.

This is an active and ongoing investigation. When complete, the BCA will turn its findings over to the appropriate county attorney for review.

Under Minnesota law, the BCA is prohibited from providing details about an investigation while it is active.