POLK COUNTY, Texas (KFDM) — Officials in Texas say a man was identified as the lone person of interest in the disappearance of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Craig Cummings said in a news briefing that Don Steven McDougal, 42, was arrested on an unrelated charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is jailed in Polk County.
The 11-year-old girl from Livingston is the focus of an AMBER Alert across Texas. The DPS is calling it an “all-hands-on-deck investigation” to find her.
According to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Cunningham was supposed to get on her school bus at 7 a.m. Thursday, but never did. Her family didn’t know and thought she’d return home at the end of the school day. When she didn’t, they contacted law enforcement officers and the AMBER Alert went out Thursday night.
Cunningham is a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She weighs 75 lbs. and is 4 feet 1 inch tall. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie with white lettering, a camo backpack, black pants and black high-top tennis shoes.
The search continued Saturday for her. Cummings told reporters that a backpack was found near Lake Livingston that may belong to Cunningham.
The FBI searched a creek linked to her disappearance, while Texas Equusearch scoured the Trinity River near the Highway 59 bridge and an area at the edge of Lake Livingston for any evidence.
DPS posted a photo Saturday of what it called a vehicle of interest in the case, a 2003 dark blue Chevrolet Suburban driven by McDougal.
Dozens of officers, including state troopers, Polk County deputies, San Jacinto County deputies, first responders from other agencies and the FBI are involved in trying to find her.
The focus right now is on bringing Audrii home,” Cummings said. “The family has been very cooperative. Everybody here, the entire community here, has been nothing but cooperative and helpful. Our prayers collectively are that we bring Audrii home soon.”
Authorities urge anyone who may have seen Cunningham to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 936-327-6810. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $7,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.