Kansas Toddler Missing Since Sunday Is Found Dead – And Mom's Boyfriend Is Suspected of Murder

A Kansas man is suspected of murder in the death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter, who was last seen Sunday before being found dead on Tuesday, PEOPLE confirms.

Chaz Stephens, 25, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after the body of Iviona Lewis was found.

Police in Hoisington, Kansas, received a call on Tuesday afternoon reporting Iviona missing — two days after she was last seen alive, Chief Kenton Doze tells PEOPLE.

Doze says it was suspicious that the family didn’t call police immediately.

“It was very alarming,” he tells PEOPLE. “We’re a small community and I will say that in all the years I’ve been here, if and when we had calls coming in about missing children, within 15 minutes to an hour we have found each and every kid. So with a two-day time span and nobody calling in, it was alarming.”

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Iviona Lewis
Iviona Lewis

The police chief declined to comment to PEOPLE about what authorities believe may have led to the two-day delay in reporting Iviona’s disappearance.

However, according to the Associated Press, Doze said there was some uncertainty about who her caretaker was while her mother was visiting family.

Iviona’s body was found about five miles from her Hoisington home in a rural part of the county, Doze says. It is unclear whether she had any signs of trauma.

Doze says he expects Stephens to face formal charges once the girl’s autopsy is complete.

Chaz Stephens
Chaz Stephens

Stephens is an on-again-off-again boyfriend of Iviona’s mother, Doze says. He was allegedly watching Iviona when she went missing.

Both Stephens and Iviona’s mother cooperated with investigators as they searched for her, Doze says, adding that the girl’s mother was visibly “shaken.”

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Multiple agencies, including the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, searched for Iviona, who was believed to be only wearing a diaper during the time she was missing, according to local TV station KWCH.

“I’ve been in law enforcement a long, long time and this is one of my worst fears I’ve ever had, especially as a chief,” Doze says.

The investigation is ongoing, he tells PEOPLE. It is unclear whether Stephens has entered a plea or retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.