The last three weeks in Texas have been dominated by the search for young Maleah Davis. The 4-year-old disappeared on May 4 after her mother’s former fiancé, Derion Vence, pulled over on the way to pick Maleah’s mother from the airport.

Originally, it was believed that Vence, 26, was knocked out and Maleah was abducted by a group of men who pulled over behind Vence’s car. However, Vence was arrested on May 11 after Houston police discovered that he had tampered with evidence connected to the investigation. Now, police fear the worse happened to young Maleah.

“We believe we have a little girl who’s been murdered, we believe that she’s out there somewhere, and we want to bring her home,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevado said on Thursday, as reported by NBC News. He continued, “We want to find her.”

Unfortunately, this is a sentiment also shared by Maleah’s mother, Brittany Bowens. She expressed her fear about Maleah’s fate in a statement released on May 14. She also stated her belief that Vence was involved and possibly harmed her daughter.

Police have held Vence in custody since his arrest and have tried to glean any viable information they can to Maleah’s location. But, according to police, he told them “a tall tale” regarding the situation.

“We strongly believe he knows where she's at, and if he wanted to tell us he would,” Chief Acevado said. And in response to the lack of cooperation, Acevado and Bowens continue to call on the public to come forward with any information that could lead to Maleah’s location.

Police are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the location of Maleah, along with a $5,000 reward from Crimestoppers for information leading to more arrests.

Police Scene
Representational image of a crime scene. Suzanne Cordiero/AFP/Getty Images
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