Suspect in Mendocino County toddler’s death watched child after mom's arrest, investigators say

A suspect in the death of a 1-year-old boy in Ukiah was with the child because his mother had been arrested a day earlier, investigators said Friday.

Edward “Two Feathers” Steele, was watching the victim — who was found dead Wednesday near railroad tracks — and his 2-year-old brother after the mother was arrested early Tuesday in Ukiah, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Steele, 32, was identified Thursday as a person of interest in the child’s death before he was arrested later that day. Officials confirmed he was a suspect Friday afternoon and released additional details on the case, including why he was with the victim.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Steele and the mother were having an argument just after 2 a.m. Tuesday outside a business in the 1700 block of North State St. in Ukiah.

The two had been dating for several months.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested the mother on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence battery. She was released around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

During her arrest, she advised a babysitter was watching her two children at a motel a half-mile away.

Investigators say Steele retrieved the children and on Wednesday morning left them by railroad tracks near the 300 block of Brush Street, about a mile south of where the mother was arrested.

The mother contacted investigators around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday regarding her missing children. She advised officials the children were with Steele.

Just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, a passerby found the 2-year-old boy, who was taken to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley hospital for life-threatening injuries.

The 1-year-old was found nearby and pronounced dead at the scene.

Steele was identified as a person of interest and Hopland Tribal members reported at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday that he’d been spotted on the Hopland Rancheria.

He was detained and later arrested on suspicion of murder. Steele is in custody without bail, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi