In a tragic turn of events, Audrii Cunningham, the missing 11-year-old girl from Texas, was discovered lifeless on Tuesday afternoon. Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons, in a somber Tuesday press conference, confirmed that Audrii’s body was found in the Trinity River near the US Highway 59 bridge in Livingston.

 

McDougal’s arrest on Friday, on unrelated charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, raised suspicions as investigators sought his cooperation in Audrii’s disappearance. Lt. Craig Cummings, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety in Southeast Texas, emphasized that McDougal, who was likely the last person to see Audrii, had been given several opportunities to cooperate.

 

During a Monday press conference, Sheriff Lyons expressed concern about public speculation, urging people not to hastily draw conclusions. The 11-year-old should have boarded her school bus on the morning of Feb. 15 but never made it, prompting a series of investigations that led to this tragic discovery.

McDougal, residing in a camper behind Audrii’s residence, was known to occasionally take her to the bus stop or even to school when she missed the bus, as revealed by Audrii’s mother, Cassie Matthews, in an interview with FOX 26 Houston.

 

Efforts are underway to piece together McDougal’s movements on the critical morning of Feb. 15, with Lyons revealing that McDougal has agreed to show investigators certain locations after his arrest.

The gravity of the situation prompted a statewide Amber Alert on Feb. 16, intensifying the search for Audrii. Lyons later acknowledged the likelihood that a backpack found in a wooded area near the Livingston Dam belonged to the young girl, adding another layer to the ongoing investigation.