The biological father of missing 4-year-old girl Maleah Davis is demanding answers from her stepfather Darion Vence. The comments come as Vence’s official story draws additional scrutiny. He is currently considered a person of interest in the case.
“I’m not putting the blame on anybody,” Craig Davis told KTRK in an interview published Tuesday. “I just need the questions that aren’t answered to be answered. There are so many unanswered questions. It’s not for the public to answer them for me. It’s not for police officers to answer them for me. It’s not for the news to answer them for me. It’s for Darion to answer for me.”
Anyone with information on Maleah’s whereabouts is urged to contact HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or @CrimeStopHOU at 713-222-TIPS. Media partners: all updates on this case will be disseminated here. #hounews pic.twitter.com/8F0PRPRgFN
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 5, 2019
According to Houston police, Vence said that he was driving his toddler son and Maleah in their mother’s Nissan Altima when they were kidnapped Friday by three Hispanic men. One of the suspects allegedly said something to the effect of the girl looking very “nice” and “sweet.” Police said that the stepfather claimed to have been knocked out by one of the assailants, and he faded and out of consciousness until he woke up on the side of a road Saturday at about 6 p.m. with his son, but no sign of Maleah. They walked to hospital, he said in this account.
A reporter asked at a press conference on Sunday if the account was faked.
“I don’t know,” said Houston police Sgt. Mark Holbrook.
Houston police later said they considered Vence a person of interest in the disappearance.
Amber Alert Update: Houston police tell me Darion Vence is a person of interest in his stepdaughter Maleah’s disappearance. Sugar Land police tell me he changed his story, first saying he walked to the hospital, then saying someone dropped him off. https://t.co/YcS3luozmZ
— Ivory Hecker FOX 26 (@IvoryHecker) May 7, 2019
The investigation into the whereabouts of missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis remains on-going. HPD customarily doesn’t identify persons of interest or suspects unless charges are filed. Any updates will be posted on twitter. No other information is available at this time. #hounews
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 7, 2019
The search for Maleah remains ongoing.
“I haven’t spoken to the public because I can’t talk about my daughter,” Craig Davis said. “I can’t control my emotions. I can’t predict myself. I break down and I cry.”
Police said they are stilling looking for the missing Nissan Altima that Vence said he had been driving at the time of the kidnapping. They are also searching for the blue pickup truck driven by the three suspects in his story.
UPDATE on the search for missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis:
HPD investigators have new pictures of the stolen silver Nissan
Altima (Texas paper tags 330-92G9) from which she was reportedly abducted. The photos, provided by family, were taken before her disappearance. #hounews pic.twitter.com/zyT5vhU0Rq— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 8, 2019
While HPD is not searching specific locations for Maleah, the investigation is very active & detectives need the public’s help. If you’ve seen Maleah, the silver Nissan or the blue pickup truck (like this one) call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or @crimestophou at 713-222-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/yKRB1qPzfp
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 8, 2019
Maleah Davis had recently had surgery to her brain. Her mother Brittany Bowens told CNN that the girl sustained an injury in an accidental fall last year. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had taken Maleah and her two brothers out of the home, and put them with a relative, but a judge ordered their return in February.
Bowens said that Vence’s story didn’t “make sense.”
Happening Now: Mother of missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis is visibly emotional as she begins another day handing out flyers and searching for her daughter. Brittany Bowens (in red) is searching near the home she has shared with Maleah and her fiancé Darion Vence. pic.twitter.com/kzdBYIeK1m
— Ivory Hecker FOX 26 (@IvoryHecker) May 8, 2019
[Image via Houston Police Department]
