Polk County Sheriff's Office
Audrey Cunningham went missing after leaving for school Thursday morning.
CNN
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The body of Audrey Cunningham, an 11-year-old girl who went missing on her way to school in Texas, was found Tuesday in the Trinity River, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said.
“Audrey's body was found in the Trinity River under Route 59,” Lyons told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. Her body was then taken to the coroner's office, where authorities said they were awaiting information about her cause of death.
Polk County District Attorney Sherry Sitton said she is preparing an arrest warrant for Don Stephen McDougal, 42, who will be charged with secret murder.
The sheriff's office said McDougall, who was arrested Friday night on an unrelated aggravated assault charge and was already in custody, had been identified as a person of interest in Audrey's disappearance.
McDougal was participating in the search effort for the missing girl, the sheriff's office told CNN earlier Tuesday.
“Some witnesses even said he was in the area and was knocking on doors…asking if they had seen her,” the sheriff told CNN.
“To me, it's simply that he's trying to make it seem like he's not playing or not responsible for her disappearance, and (he's) part of the party that was trying to find her. That's what I'm trying to convey.”
CNN has attempted to obtain information about McDougall's attorney and has reached out to his family for comment.
McDougall, a friend of Audrey's father, lived in a mobile home on the family's property and sometimes took Audrey to the bus stop, the sheriff said.
The family home is located near Lake Livingston. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the lake is “one of the state's largest reservoirs with a surface area of 83,000 acres.”
Authorities said around 7 a.m. Thursday, McDougal and Audrey left their home for the bus stop. That was the last time Audrey's family saw her. She didn't go to school or the school bus that day.
The sheriff said McDougall did not tell investigators whether he dropped off Audrey at the bus stop Thursday morning. But he told CNN that Lyons “believes he is the person of greatest interest to us.”
One of the few public clues in Audrey's disappearance may be the red Hello Kitty backpack she was supposed to take to school.
On Friday, the sheriff's office announced that “a small backpack believed to belong to a child was found near the Livingston Lake Dam.”
“There was enough content in it to lead us to believe strongly that it was Audrey's backpack,” Lyons told CNN.
However, the girl's whereabouts remain a mystery. Authorities have opened a criminal investigation and suspect foul play, but have not released additional details.
The sheriff said he hopes cell phone and video analysis will help advance the investigation.
“I'm not giving up hope,” Lyons told CNN. “I think she's still alive.”
Kou
Authorities are searching for Audrey Cunningham, the Texas girl who went missing in Polk County on Thursday.
Polk County Crime Stoppers has announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Audrey's disappearance.
Audrey is white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is approximately 4 feet 1 inch tall and weighs about 75 pounds, the sheriff's office said. The girl was last seen wearing black pants, a black hoodie with white lettering, and black high-top tennis shoes.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 936-327-6810 or submit an anonymous tip online.
