Dana Dolan, 24, is the third and final suspect accused in the nearly 2-year-old toddler’s death, and it comes only days after the child’s parents — Mark Geremia and Shawna Cote — were arrested in the case.
A third person has been arrested in the death of a New Hampshire toddler who was found at a truck stop with fentanyl in her system last November, officials said Saturday.
Dana Dolan, 24, is the final suspect accused in the nearly 2-year-old toddler's death, and it comes only days after the child's parents -- Mark Geremia and Shawna Cote -- were arrested in the case.
Londonderry police announced Wednesday the toddler died of acute fentanyl intoxication. She died on Nov. 16 after being found unconscious at the RMX Truck Stop off of Interstate-93. She was 1 year and 9 months old, and her name has not been released.
The United States Marshals Service said in a press release Saturday it was "extremely happy" to announce Dolan's arrest after working tirelessly toward the pursuit of justice in this case.
“This is one of those investigations that truly pulls on the heart-strings of everyone, as crimes against children do,” U.S. Marshal Nick Willard said. “The US Marshals Fugitive Task Force and countless other agencies worked tirelessly to ensure that all three of these fugitives were arrested so they can be brought to justice.”
Dolan's arrest Saturday comes one day after the Londonderry Police Department and the U.S. Marshals offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his location and arrest.
Authorities said the offer of a reward greatly increased the number of tips they received. While a lot of the information was investigated and ruled out, some of it pointed investigators to a variety of locations in and around the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, according to officials.
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After learning new information in their investigation on Saturday, the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force and several other agencies approached an apartment on Powder Hill Drive in Lancaster, New Hampshire, where Dolan attempted to flee out the back door, before he was quickly arrested, officials said.
Dolan, who was last known to reside in Tilton, was transferred to the Londonderry Police Department where he was going to be processed on charges of negligent homicide, reckless manslaughter, and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon. Dolan will be held at the Rockingham County Jail pending his initial court appearance Monday. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.
The first arrests in connection to the case were made Tuesday when Cote and Geremia were taken into custody after the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force located them in a Tilton residence, three months after their daughter's death.
Geremia, a 32-year-old from Northfield, New Hampshire, was arrested on 11 charges, including negligent homicide, manslaughter and possession of child pornography, police said Wednesday.
Cote, a 29-year-old from Tilton, New Hampshire, was arrested on eight charges, the same ones brought against Geremia except the child pornography charges.
A prosecutor said at a court hearing that Geremia stopped to take a cigarette break in the middle of doing CPR on his daughter at the truck stop.
Lawyers entered not guilty pleas for Geremia and Cote. Judge David Ruoff ordered them detained until trial, saying they were a danger to the community and ordered them not to have contact with their other children, including a boy that Cote gave birth to a few weeks ago and a nearly 5-year-old daughter.
Anyone with information about the case may contact lead investigator Detective Sergeant Daniel Hurley by emailing dhurley@londonderrynhpd.org or calling 603-425-5922, or anonymously by calling the Londonderry Police Department's tip line at 603-425-5999.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
