The physique of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham was present in a river Tuesday after the little woman had been lacking from a small Texas city for 5 days, and authorities say they plan to file fees in opposition to a person within the case.
“My heart aches with this news,” Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons told reporters at a news conference announcing the tragic discovery. “I express with my deepest sympathies and condolences to everyone who knew, who cared for and loved Audrii. We will continue to process the evidence that has been gathered to ensure justice for Audrii.”
The girl’s body was found in the Trinity River along U.S. 59, he said. She had been missing since Thursday after failing to make it on the on the school bus in the small town of Livingston, about 70 miles northeast of Houston.
Lyons said the information gathered in the criminal investigation “is substantial.”
Here’s what we find out about Audrii and the person police plan to cost in her demise.
Man to face fees in reference to Audrii’s demise
District Attorney Shelly Sitton stated that regulation enforcement was within the technique of making ready the “appropriate arrest warrant” for 42-year-old Don Steven McDougal, who was presupposed to be dropping Audrii off on the college bus the morning she disappeared.
“At this time, we believe the appropriate arrest warrant is going to be for capital murder in the death of Audrii Cunningham,” Sitton stated. “I perceive that it is a very tough time for Audrii’s household and for our neighborhood.”
USA TODAY couldn’t discover an legal professional listed for McDougal, who was being held at Polk County jail for an unrelated felony cost of aggravated assault on Friday.
“We do imagine at his level he was the final person who seen her,” Lyons beforehand stated about McDougal.
McDougal had been talking with investigators, however regulation enforcement declined to share how concerned McDougal was in finding Audrii’s physique.
Who was Audrii Cunningham and the way did police discover her?
Audrii Cunningham lived together with her household in a lakeside neighborhood on the jap shores of Livingston Lake.
Lyons stated that investigators have been in a position to zero in on the situation of Audrii’s physique utilizing cellphone information, movies and a few data they obtained from McDougal.
Where is Livingston, Texas?
The city, which had a inhabitants of simply over 5,600 over the past census, is in Polk County about 100 miles west of the Louisiana state line.
Livingston is simply over 46 miles south of Lufkin, the biggest metropolis in Angelina County.
The small city is the place a hero couple made nationwide information final 12 months after they rescued a 9-month-old child deserted in a shed.
‘Little costume and no diaper’ Texas ‘hero’ couple rescues child deserted in shed
When did Audrii Cunningham disappear?
Audrii was final seen at 7 a.m. on Feb. 15 when she left her home to catch the varsity bus.
Her dad and mom reported her lacking after she didn’t get off the bus on Thursday afternoon.
School officers informed investigators that the bus didn’t choose her up and she or he didn’t report back to campus.
Where was Audrii’s backpack discovered?
Over the weekend, the Texas Department of Safety officers introduced they discovered a backpack belonging to Audrii and the division recognized a person of curiosity in her disappearance.
On Saturday, Polk County sheriff’s Lt. Craig Cummings stated officers discovered Audrii’s Hello Kitty backpack close to a dam at Lake Livingston, the Austin American-Statesman, a part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, reported.
Cummings recognized the person of curiosity as McDougal.
During a press convention Monday, Lyons stated McDougal lives in a trailer on the household’s property and typically took the woman the bus cease and to highschool if she missed the bus.
According to the sheriff’s workplace, investigators imagine {that a} darkish blue 2003 Chevrolet Suburban, belonging to McDougal, was concerned within the disappearance.
The division had been asking the general public for assist in reporting any sightings of the car on Thursday or Friday.
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Contributing: Fernanda Figueroa with the Austin American-Statesman
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and observe her on X @nataliealund.
