In a public plea made during a press conference Monday, Feb. 19, outside the Polk County Judicial Center in Livingston, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons called upon residents along FM 3126 in the Scenic Loop area near Blanchard, Texas, to provide any surveillance video footage that might aid in the search for 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, whose disappearance last Thursday, Feb. 15, has sparked widespread concern.
Authorities remain hopeful that the child, last seen in the Scenic Loop area near Lake Livingston before failing to board her school bus Thursday, is still alive and may be returned safely to her family.
The case has seen a troubling development with the revelation that the last person believed to have seen the girl is Don Steven McDougal, a man with a troubling criminal record, including two charges related to child enticement in Brazoria County. McDougal had been residing in a camper located behind the girl’s home, where she lived with her father and grandmother.
Lyons said investigators are striving to put together a timeline of McDougal’s movements around the time that Audrii disappeared and hope that the video surveillance from local residents provides additional pieces to the puzzle.
“We do feel at this point that he was the last person who has seen her,” Lyons said, adding that McDougal is believed to have dropped off Audrii at her bus stop on previous occasions.
Lyons denied reports that McDougal has confessed to abducting and concealing the whereabouts of Audrii.
“Right now, Mr. McDougal is our main person of interest, but we are not ruling out anyone else who may be involved or may not be involved. We we not just honing in on just this one individual,” the sheriff said. “I anticipate that if the evidence presents itself that proves Mr. McDougal has committed an offense or a crime that charges will be filed against him.”
Media reports that suggest McDougal lived with Audrii’s family are misleading, Lyons said, as McDougal lives in a camper behind the Cunningham home, not inside the home. Some media reports have suggested that McDougal is a registered sex offender but the sheriff said that is not the case.
“We would refer you to the various counties that prosecuted McDougal for inquiries regarding his criminal history,” he said.
The reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for Audrii’s disappearance has been increased to $10,000. If you have information, please contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office 936-327-6810, report on the iWatchTx app or by clicking the link: https://iwatchtx.org/index.html, or by calling 936-327-STOP.
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