The grim search for 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham concluded on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
Cunningham disappeared on Thursday, February 15, 2024, prompting local investigators to launch a search and rescue effort around her hometown of Livingston, Texas.
She was last seen around 7 am near her home and failed to make it to her bus stop, causing an Amber Alert to be issued immediately.
Law enforcement officers from several agencies worked tirelessly over several days, scouring the Lake Livingston area.
Eventually, a child’s backpack believed to be Cunningham’s was found near a local river, and a person of interest, Don Steven McDougal, was identified in the case.
Tragically, search crews discovered Cunningham’s body in the Trinity River. The cause of her death is currently unknown, and an autopsy is being conducted.
McDougal, a friend of the family who had admitted to leaving with Cunningham on that fateful morning, was subsequently charged with capital murder and is being held without bond. He has a lengthy criminal history spanning over two decades.
As the community reels in grief, a private prayer vigil was held for Cunningham, and community members expressed their heartache at the devastating loss. The Livingston community is in mourning at this heartbreaking turn of events.
