Texas authorities on Monday afternoon announced that a person of interest named in connection with the disappearance of Audrii Cunningham was “the last person to see” the still-missing 11-year-old on Feb. 15.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Steven McDougal, 42, on Friday on unrelated charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and gave him “several opportunities to cooperate” with their investigation into Audrii’s disappearance, said Lt. Craig Cummings, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety in Southeast Texas.
“He was probably taking her to…the bus stop, and we do feel that he was the last person to see Audrii,” Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said of McDougal during the Monday press conference, adding that there were “some occasions” when McDougal would take Audrii to the bus stop or even to school if she missed the bus.
Lyons urged the public not to “jump to conclusions” as his office works to build a strong criminal case.
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Texas authorities issued a statewide Amber Alert for Audrii Cunningham on Feb. 17. (Facebook/ Joshua Cunningham)
The 11-year-old girl should have gotten on her school bus on the morning of Feb. 15, when she was last seen at her residence in the 100 block of Lakeside Drive, in Polk County, Texas, but she never made it on the bus or to school that day, officials said.
McDougal lived in a camper behind the residence where Audrii lived with her father, grandparents and other family, Cummings said. Audrii’s mother, Cassie Matthews, told FOX 26 Houston that she believed McDougal would babysit the 11-year-old girl while he was staying at her father’s home.
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Don Steven McDougal was named as a person of interest in connection with the Feb. 15 disappearance of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham of Polk County, Texas. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office/ TDPS)
Investigators are trying to piece together a timeline of McDougal’s movements on the morning of Feb. 15. McDougal agreed to show investigators “certain locations” after his arrest, Lyons said.
A statewide Amber Alert was issued on Feb. 16.
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Audrii Cunningham was supposed to get on her school bus on Feb. 15 but never made it, authorities said. (Polk County sheriff)
Lyons said later that there is a “high probability” that a backpack located in a wooded area near the Livingston Dam belonged to Audrii.
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McDougal has an extensive criminal history dating back to the early 2000s. His charges range from enticement of a child in Brazoria County in 2008 to assault of a family member and evading arrest in Liberty County, among dozens of other crimes.
Don Steven McDougal was convicted of enticement of a child in 2008. (Facebook)
Investigators are asking the public to submit any video footage they may have of FM 3126 in Polk County between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 15.
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Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information that could help them convict the person responsible for Audrii’s disappearance.
