A family friend of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham remained in jail Wednesday as prosecutors say they plan to charge him in the girl’s death after her body was found in a river near her rural Texas home.
Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said the body of the young girl — who went missing last week — was found Tuesday during a search of the Trinity River in a rural area north of Houston. Lyons said mobile phone data was used to help search for sites and the local river authority slowed the outflow from a reservoir to assist search teams who were in the water.
Cunninham’s body was found about 10 miles from her home near Lake Livingston.
“My heart aches at this news,” Lyons said.
Audrii’s family reported her missing Thursday after she did not return to her Livingston home after school. After she was reported missing, investigators discovered she never boarded the bus to go to school that morning.
Polk County District Attorney Shelly Sitton said officials were preparing an arrest warrant for Don Steven McDougal, 42, on a charge of capital murder. She said they don’t yet know if they will seek the death penalty in this case.
Lyons said there is “substantial evidence” in the case, and that cellphone records and videos have helped identify places to search. He added that the Trinity River Authority lowered the water level on the river, which led to the discovery of her body.
Authorities have said McDougal is a friend of the girl’s father and lived in an RV on the family’s property. Audrii lived with her father, grandparents and other relatives, authorities said.
Lyons has said that in the past, McDougal had taken Audrii to the bus stop or would take her to school if she missed the bus.
A backpack that authorities believe belonged to the child was found Friday near the dam on Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest lakes.
When authorities investigated Audrii’s disappearance last week, they had named McDougal as a person of interest and he was arrested Friday on an unrelated assault charge. He remains in jail on these charges. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.
Court records from Brazoria County, south of Houston, show McDougal pleaded no contest to two felony counts of enticing a child stemming from a 2007 incident and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The sheriff said the girl’s body was taken to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office in Houston to determine the cause of death.
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Associated Press writer Sean Murphy contributed to this report from Oklahoma City.