Mother ‘offering baptisms’ identified as person of interest after sisters pulled from canal

No arrests or charges made in connections to deaths as police explore ‘all possible leads’

Destiny Hogan, nine, and Daysha Hogan, seven, were found dead on 22 June (Lauderhill Police Department)

Two girls pulled from a Florida canal have been identified as sisters, and a mother “offering baptisms” in the neighbourhood has been named as a person of interest, police have said.

Police confirmed the two children who were pulled from the same canal in Lauderhill, a city west of Fort Lauderdale, on Tuesday were related.

Police Lieutenant Mike Bigwood identified the young girls as nine-year-old Destiny Hogan and seven-year-old Daysha Hogan and said that investigators are still exploring “all possible leads”.

"At this point, I would classify it as two suspicious deaths. We are definitely treating it as if it was a criminal investigation," Mr Bigwood said.

The girl's mother, Tinessa Hogan, has been confirmed as a person of interest. The girls were last seen with her around 5pm on Monday.

Reports have surfaced that a woman, identified as the mother, had been seen in the neighbourhood and in the canal the day prior to the discovery of the two girls with a Bible inquiring with residents about baptisms.

Mr Bigwood said that police are “familiar” with such reports and are looking at them “very closely” although they could not comment on how they related to the case.

The mother has not been arrested and police are aware of her location, Mr Bigwood said.

The cause of death of the two girls has not yet been determined by a medical examiner. Police confirmed that neither of the children had been reported missing by a parent or guardian.

Investigators discovered Destiny’s body at around 12pm on Tuesday, while the body of Daysha was found hours later in the same stretch of canal at around 8.45pm.

The siblings lived with their mother and were estranged from their father, the lieutenant said.

Authorities have put out a plea to the public for information, asking anyone who knows the family or children to reach out to Lauderhill Police Department.

“If you’re familiar with the relationship, if you’re familiar with any churches, organizations that the family may be a part of, please call us,” Mr Bigwood said.

He added: “We desperately need to know what these relationships are and put some context to how this may have happened.”