An 11-year-old Texas girl disappeared Thursday, and police say a person of interest has been arrested.
Authorities say Audrii Cunningham was last seen near her father’s home in Livingston, Texas, at 7 a.m. on Feb. 15, when neighbors usually see her walking to her school bus stop. Audrey didn’t take the school bus.
“She missed school. This is why the father and family were worried when she didn’t get off the bus “Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Craig Cummings said. “We are looking at this as a criminal investigation.”
Statewide Amber Alert issued Feb. 15.
Officials are investigating Don Steven McDougal, Audrii’s father’s friend who lives in a camper behind his house.
Investigators think McDougal saw Audrii last.
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested McDougal Friday for an unrelated aggravated assault. He enticed a minor in 2008 and has a lengthy criminal record.
Cummings said Monday that investigators have given McDougal opportunities to cooperate and hope he will help with the case.
Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons called McDougal the “main person of interest,” but he did not rule out others.
Officials are also looking for McDougal’s 2003 blue Chevy Suburban.
“Anyone that saw that vehicle on Thursday or Friday, we’re asking that you call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office,” Cummings.
Multiple law enforcement agencies and volunteers searched for Audrii in Livingston and found her backpack near Lake Livingston Dam.
“We found other items,” Cummings said. “We won’t discuss those items. That’s part of the investigation.”
Cassie Matthews, Audrii’s mother, wants her home.
“There’s not words for it,” Matthews told KTRK in Houston. “You’re mad, lost, broken, and empty. Now I’m empty.”
Lyons is “hoping and praying” Audrii survives.
Audrii weighs 75 pounds, is 4-foot-1, and has blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a camouflage backpack, black pants, a black hoodie with white lettering, and black high-top tennis shoes.
Reward increased to $10,000. Anyone with information should call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 936-327-6810.