Tragedy has struck a small Texas town after the body of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham was found in the Trinity River just five days after she was reported missing. The missing Texas girl was reportedly on her way to school when she suddenly vanished.

A man has been taken into custody in connection to her disappearance and police are expected to file charges against him soon. He was taken into custody before Audrii Cunningham's body was found.

"My heart aches with this news," said Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons during a press conference. "I express with my deepest sympathies and condolences to everyone who knew, who cared for and loved Audrii. We will continue to process the evidence that has been gathered to ensure justice for Audrii."

Audrii Cunningham's body was found in the Trinity River, along the US 59, on Tuesday. She had been missing since Thursday after she reportedly failed to make it to her school bus in the small town of Livingston, Texas, which is located approximately 70 miles northeast of Houston. According to USA Today.

Her parents reported her missing after she did not get off the usual school bus on Thursday afternoon. School officials also reported that she did not report to school, nor did the school bus pick her up before classes started, which meant she went missing as she was going to school.

Her backpack was eventually found, and this led police to their person of interest, identified as 42-year-old Don Steven McDougal, who was supposed to drop the 11-year-old elementary school student off on the morning she disappeared.

Person of Interest Joined Search Efforts for Missing Texas Girl Audrii McDougal

The Polk County Sheriff has been holding McDougal for questioning since Friday after he was arrested over an unrelated aggravated assault case. Before that, however, he was seen joining in the efforts to locate the missing Texas girl.

"Some of the witnesses have even said that he was in the community and knocking on doors ... asking have they seen her," Sheriff Lyons told CNN in an interview. "To me, it simply tells me is that he's trying to give the appearances that ... he's not at fault in her disappearance and that (he's) part of the concerned parties who were trying to locate her."

On when he will be charged, the sheriff simply stated. "Once we get all that evidence put together (we will determine) what charges will be filed," adding that "We want to make sure that whatever evidence that we collect, and that we place on an affidavit today, is going to be something that is going to hold up in the court later."

Police Suspect Person of Interest's Vehicle Was Involved in the Kidnapping of Missing Texas Girl

Meanwhile, video of McDougal's arrest has surfaced and it showed him being questioned by a police officer while he was leaning into a dark blue 2003 Chevrolet Suburban, which he owned.

According to The US Sun, police now believe that the vehicle was also used in the abduction of Audrii Cunningham and that investigations into the matter are ongoing. More details are expected to come in the future.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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