Danny Nichols

Butler police are seeking the public's help in locating a man who is accused of strangling his 11-year-old daughter Sunday evening.

A felony arrest warrant has been issued for 37-year-old Danny Nichols, according to a police news release.

The girl ended up needing hospital treatment for injuries that authorities say included petechiae to the eyes — which are red spots due to ruptured capillaries.

Police said they were called shortly before 6 p.m. to Nichols' home on Standard Avenue, where he is accused of assaulting his daughter during a visit there.

The caller also reported that the defendant had threatened to harm himself, according to court documents.

Officers went to the home, but were unable to make contact with Nichols. They believed, however, that he was inside, police said.

Investigators subsequently spoke to the girl's mother, who told them she was on her way to a Pittsburgh hospital with her daughter. The defendant, she alleged, had strangled the girl by placing his hands around her neck to the point that she had difficulty breathing.

Police obtained both a search warrant for the home and a warrant for Nichols' arrest.

The Butler County Emergency Services Unit assisted police around 9 p.m. at the house. Authorities said that after getting no response, flash bangs and tear gas rounds were eventually fired inside the home.

But when police searched the house around 1 a.m. Monday, the suspect was not there.

Anyone with information about Nichols' whereabouts is asked to call 911.