Audrii Cunningham of Livingston, Texas, was reported missing around 7 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, when she failed to get on the morning school bus. Days later, 42-year-old Don Steven McDougal was declared a person of interest in the 11-year-old’s disappearance. But has Cunningham been found?
After Cunningham vanished, an Amber Alert was issued in the area. The Austin American-Statesman says Cunningham’s family lives near bodies of water, including Lake Livingston, which authorities searched but found nothing. The police then turned their efforts elsewhere.
One clue to Cunningham’s whereabouts was discovered, however, when a young girl’s backpack was spotted near Lake Livingston dam, police said.
The search for Audrii Cunningham
Despite the backpack discovery, Audrii Cunningham remained missing for some days. Don Steven McDougal, arrested as a person of interest in the case, reportedly lived on Cunningham’s father’s property and was a family friend. He was known to spend time with Cunningham and said he was with her the morning she vanished.
McDougal has a criminal record, including “enticing a child with intent” from 2007, and his car has also been declared a “vehicle of interest.” On the same day that Cunningham vanished, McDougal was arrested on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon unrelated to the Livingston case. McDougal cooperated with Texas authorities.
While the Cunningham search was ongoing, Cunngingham’s mom, Cassie Matthews, said, “I am not going to be the same unless my baby is returned to me, and neither is her family, any of us, any of her friends, any of the people that she has been connected to in the community.”
Audrii Cunningham’s body was found in the Trinity River
The multi-day search for Audrii Cunningham, however, reached a sad conclusion on Feb. 20, 2024, when her body was found in the Trinity River near Livingston. Referring to Don Steven McDougal, who reportedly helped search for Cunningham, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said,
“Some of the witnesses have even said that [McDougal] was in the community and knocking on doors … asking have they seen her. To me, it simply tells me that he’s trying to give the appearances that he has no play or he’s not at fault in her disappearance and that (he’s) part of the concerned parties who were trying to locate her.”
via CNN
Polk County District Attorney Shelly Sitton said McDougal would be charged with capital murder. As of this report, Cunningham’s exact cause of death had not been determined.