The mother of a missing 4-year-old girl said that she’s scared for her daughter.
“I’m terrified for Maleah,” Brittany Bowens told KTRK of her little girl as the search for Maleah intensified in Houston.
“My spirit is so broken, I feel so lost. I can’t concentrate, I can’t focus. It’s so overwhelming for me. It doesn’t seem real,” Bowens added.
Maleah’s stepfather Darion Vence told police officers that he was with her and his 1-year-old son on May 4 when they were accosted by three men he described as Hispanic.
2/2: Photo of assault victim, Mr. Darion Vence, who is Maleah’s stepfather, stated he was unconscious for almost 24 hrs. Detectives ask anyone who saw Darion or Maleah after 9 pm Friday (May 3) to 6 pm on Sat to contact HPD Homicide 713-308-3600 or @CrimeStopHOU at 713-222-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/nuZHA1EQPY
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 5, 2019
Vence said he was driving to pick up Bowens when he was forced to pull over when he heard a noise that sounded like he got a flat tire.
When he got out of his car, he said he was approached by the trio, who he said were in a blue Chevy truck.
“One of them makes a comment saying that Maleah looks very nice, looks very sweet,” Houston Police Department detective Mark Holbrook told reporters on Sunday. Vence said he was hit on the head and when he came to at around 6 p.m., he and his son were in a different place and Maleah was gone. He doesn’t know where he was in the intervening hours.
“We’re hoping the public can give us any information about anybody who has seen Darion during that period of time because he doesn’t really know where he was or what’s going on there,” said Holbrook. “I realize there’s a lot [of] blanks in the story,” he added.
1/2: Photos displayed at the media briefing: first is victim’s stolen car, a silver 2011 Nissan Altima with TX paper tags 3092G9, seen on a traffic camera near Hwy 59 & State Hwy 6 in Sugar Land about 3 pm Saturday (May 4). Second is photo likeness of suspects’ blue truck. pic.twitter.com/rseWWqO4s4
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 5, 2019
The search for the girl continued into Monday as volunteers, including teams from Texas Equusearch, passed out flyers and combed the area where she was last seen.
A group of five women went to Oyster Creek Park in Sugar Land to hand out flyers.
“They (police) were mentioning a park close to Highway 6 and I-59, and this was the first park that came to mind, and it’s a big park, a lot of grass, a lot of trails,” Dominique Bryant, a family friend, told KPRC. “And I figured we could pass the flyers out because this park is always busy.”
“She’s a spunky little thing, you know, and she’s beautiful. She has a beautiful energy and we just want to find her at this point,” added Amber Fannin, another family friend. “If you have her, just please drop her off somewhere safe. If you want to keep the car or keep whatever you found, that’s alright, but we just want her back safe and sound.”
Anyone with information on Maleah’s whereabouts is urged to contact HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or @CrimeStopHOU at 713-222-TIPS. Media partners: all updates on this case will be disseminated here. #hounews pic.twitter.com/8F0PRPRgFN
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 5, 2019
An Amber Alert was issued for Maleah.
She was described as an African-Ameican female with black hair and brown eyes, standing approximately 3 feet tall and weighing between 30 and 40 pounds.
She was last seen wearing a light blue Under Armor jacket, blue jeans, and gray Under Armor tennis shoes with pink and white details.
