The search for 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who sparked an AMBER Alert after vanishing on Thursday, will continue into the weekend, Texas law enforcement officials have confirmed. Audrii was reported missing when she failed to alight from the school bus on Thursday afternoon. Authorities subsequently discovered the young girl did not board the school bus that morning and did not attend school that day. The search, which concentrated Friday around an area at the south end of Lake Livingston, will resume Saturday at daybreak with additional resources, said Lt. Craig Cummings, as reported by KENS 5.
Officials wrapped up Friday's search as twilight fell and plan to guard the site overnight. "We will have deputies here to protect this location and the investigative efforts that have been uncovered up to this point," Cummings stated. The Lake Livingston Dam area has become a focal point in the investigation following leads that brought them to this "location of interest." Cummings urged the public to steer clear of the area to maintain the integrity of the search during a statement obtained by KENS 5.
Amid the search effort, Audrii's mother, Cassie Matthews, shared her anguish and hope in an interview with KHOU 11. Matthews described her daughter as a "great child" and expressed her family's desperation for Audrii's safe return. "She has so many opportunities ahead of her and deserves every right to reach those opportunities," Matthews said. "She should be at home where we know she's safe, and she's warm, and she's fed." Further information surfaced regarding the potential discovery of Audrii's backpack within the search area, though this has yet to lead investigators to Audrii herself, according to an interview with ABC13.
Audrii, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl standing about four feet tall and weighing 75 pounds, was last seen donning a black hoodie, a camo backpack, black pants, and black high-top tennis shoes. As the search persists, law enforcement continues to speak with multiple persons of interest in the case. Anyone with information on Audrii's disappearance is urged to contact the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 936-327-6810 or dial 911, as authorities released via ABC13. Local agencies such as the Texas DPS, the Texas Rangers, San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are collaborating in a concerted effort to bring Audrii home safely.
