Officials looking for video showing FM 3126 on day 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham disappeared
The search for Audrii has reached day five, after she never made it on her school bus last Thursday, Feb. 15.
LIVINGSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On day five of the search for Audrii Cunningham, authorities confirmed that 42-year-old Don Steven McDougal was the last person seen with the missing 11-year-old.
Authorities named 42-year-old McDougal their primary person of interest over the weekend.
Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said McDougal was a friend of Audrii's father. Lyons said McDougal was allowed to live in a trailer behind the house where Audrii lives with her father, grandparents, and other relatives in Livingston.
Lyons said McDougal promised to take Audrii to her bus stop, a few blocks from her Livingston home, early Thursday morning. They said he had taken her to the bus stop, in the area of Leisure Lane along Lake Livingston, several times previously and even took her to school if she missed the bus.
The sheriff told ABC13 that while McDougal admits to leaving the house with Audrii the morning she disappeared, he will not tell investigators what happened next.
Whether he dropped her off or she made it to the bus stop is unclear, the sheriff said.
Lyons said McDougal has agreed to take investigators to several locations, including the Livingston Dam, where investigators discovered what they believe to be Audrii's wet backpack.
SEE PREVIOUS REPORT: Authorities continue search for missing 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham
Authorities are being very cautious with the information that McDougal gives them, Lyons said.
Volunteers like Jordan Alloway are helping verify McDougal's leads.
"I know that I wouldn't want anybody to stop searching if my child was missing," Alloway said.
Lyons stressed that McDougal has not confessed.
He explained that the Texas Rangers are asking him to take them to any places where he thinks he may have been.
Investigators are asking the public to share video with them of FM 3126 on Thursday, Feb. 15, between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
Investigators believe McDougal left the house with Audrii at 6:30 a.m. They are specifically interested in video of his 2003 blue Chevrolet Suburban.
On Monday, reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case was raised from $7,000 to $10,000.
Texas Department of Public Safety Spokesperson Lt. Craig Cummings asked the public to stay away from the area of Scenic Loop FM 3277, near Tigerville Park. Cummings cited evidence but declined to elaborate.
Still, community volunteers are being directed to rally at Tigerville Park each day, where Lyons said law enforcement will admit them to the search or turn them away as needed.
Lyons said he knows people are concerned and want to help, but too many people in an area can hinder.
According to Lyons, law enforcement is aware of the possible ties McDougal has to the Aryan Brotherhood. He said they plan to further explore the possible affiliation after Audrii is found.
McDougal is currently in the Polk County Jail on an unrelated aggravated assault charge. He was taken into custody around 11 p.m. on Friday.
When asked about charges tied to Audrii's disappearance, Lyons said, "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's going to hold up in the court later. It does us no good to prematurely charge you now. And then three, four months from now get tossed out of court because we were moving too fast. So, I ask you, please understand, as we work carefully through this, because Audrii deserves this."
McDougal has an extensive criminal history. In 2008, he was convicted of enticing a child with intent to commit a felony in Brazoria County. Few details are currently publicly available on the case, as McDougal was identified as a POI over the holiday weekend. ABC13 is working to learn more about the case.
ABC13 spoke with Anthony Osso Jr, a criminal defense attorney not affiliated with the case. He said that while child enticement crimes are typically linked to sex crimes, it's not always the case. For example, the intended felony could be aggravated assault.
Osso added that even if the intended felony were a child sex crime, under Texas law, child enticement with intent to commit a felony does not require sex offender registration.
RELATED: 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham's mom says missing girl's backpack may have been found in search area
If you have any information about Audrii's disappearance, you are urged to call Polk County Sheriff's Office at 936-327-6810.
