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4-year-old Maleah Davis is still missing. Alleged suspect Derion Vence has been arrested in connection with her disppearance. Turns out, he is NOT her stepfather like initially reported. Get the details inside...
It has been over two weeks since 4-year-old Maleah Davis was last seen and the search continues. According to https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/maleah-davis/maleah-davis-update... ">reports, members of Texas EquuSearch was in the Rosharon area Tuesday afternoon searching for Maleah near a haunted house in the 12800 block of Valley Vista Drive.
Little Maleah was last seen alive on surveillance footage entering her Houston apartment with her mother's ex-fiancé, Derion Vence, who police said told them three men abducted the child several days later. Police named Vence a person of interest in the case, citing inconsistencies in his story about how Maleah was supposedly kidnapped. He was arrested Saturday (May 11th) and charged with tampering with evidence in the disappearance of Maleah.
After searching the family's apartment, investigators found blood evidence that matched Maleah’s DNA that was collected from her toothbrush. Vence was originally held in jail on a $999,999 bond, but a judge reduced that amount to $45,000 on Monday. He was still being held at the Harris County Jail on Tuesday.
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On Tuesday, April 30th, Maleah's mother, Brittany Bowens, left town to attend her father's funeral in Massachusetts. She left her daughter Maleah and the young son she shares with Vence in his care.
On Saturday, May 4th, Vence arrived at the Houston Methodist Hospital where he told authorities he had been attacked by three men and Maleah had been abducted. It's reported he was on his way to the airport to pick Bowens up when he pulled over on the side of the road to investigate a noise that was come from his tire around 9pm Friday, May 10th. He claims a blue crew cab Chevy truck pulled up behind him and three men got out of the truck. He claims he was knocked unconscious. He said he briefly woke at one point and realized he was in the back of the truck with the three men and the children before passing out again.
Vence claims he doesn't know what happened until about 6pm Saturday when he said the men left him and his son on the highway. He said he walked along with highway with his son for four hours looking for help, but no one stopped for him. He walked all the way to the hospital. Officials say his son was in good health when they arrived. After investigators began to check out receipts for his story, they realized his story didn't add up.
"His story did not add up," Sugar Land Police spokesman Doug Adolph told CNN.
On Wednesday, May 8th, a court order banned Brittany and Vence from seeing Maleah's other siblings. Maleah's younger half-brother was reportedly sent to his paternal grandmother, while her older brother was put into the custody of his paternal aunt. The order was reportedly the result of separate motions by Brittany's own mother, Brenda, and the Department of Family and Protective Services.
NBC4i.com reports CPS had taken custody of Maleah last year after she was rushed to the hospital with a seizure and a head injury:
That day, it was revealed that Maleah last year was taken into custody by Child Protective Services after she was rushed to the hospital with a seizure and a head injury.
The little girl was only taken to the hospital after Brenda arrived home from work and urged she be seen by a doctor, the report said. At the time, Maleah was living with Brenda as well as her mother and Vence.
Doctors said Maleah's mother and Vence claimed she fell off a chair, but the injury did not align with that explanation, according to KHOU-TV. She was taken into temporary custody by CPS, but a judge returned her to her mother and Vence several months later.
No one was charged in connection with the incident.
Maleah's biological father, Craig David, shared initimate photos of his daughter during that time on his social media:
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The Nissan that Vence was driving was found on Thursday after dogs detected the scent of human decomposition in the trunk.
Vence was seen on surveillance video from a neighbor's porch taking out a large laundry basket with a trash bag along with cleaning supplies from the apartment on May 3rd. A basket similar to the one seen on the video was found in the Nissan's trunk. Maleah wasn't seen on video anytime after that, including the day he said he took both kids with him to the airport.
Maleah's mother Brittany Bowens was heckled outside of a courtroom on Monday as people protested and questioned her about her daughter's disappearance. She was met by a crowd of people chanting "Justice for Maleah!" Brittany showed up in court with her spokesperson/community activist Quannell X for a scheduled court hearing for Vence.
The hearing ended up getting canceled and Vence's next hearing was scheduled for July 10th.
Watch the protestors go off on Brittany below:
Brittany said she does not believe her daughter is still alive, but she hopes to locate her. The mother of Maleah Davis, a 4-year-old who was reported missing more than a week ago, said she does not believe the girl is alive but still hopes to locate her. Quanell X said Brittany believes Vence harmed the girl. We can't say the evidence isn't looking that way as well.
So sad. We pray little Maleah is found and receives justice for any potential foul play!
Photos: Houston Police Department/Craig David's IG
