Texas authorities search for missing 11-year-old girl as officials recover child’s backpack near lake, nab person of interest

Texas authorities are desperately searching for an 11-year-old girl who disappeared Thursday after she failed to get on her school bus – with the only trace of the child a “Hello Kitty” backpack found near a reservoir.

Investigators have identified a person of interest in the heartbreaking case that began last week when Audrii Cunningham never stepped onto her bus at the stop near her home around 7 a.m., the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

An amber alert was quickly blasted out in search of the 4’1″ girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing black pants and a black hoodie while carrying a bright red “Hello Kitty” style backpack.

A person of interest, Don Steven McDougal, 42, was taken into custody Friday on an unrelated charge of aggravated assault, state authorities said.

Investigators suspect McDougal’s dark blue 2003 Chevy Suburban is involved in Cunningham’s disappearance, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The state police also confirmed law enforcement discovered a small backpack near Lake Livingston Dam that likely belonged to the girl.

“We would like to have her come home, it’s not like her to just run off or disappear, she has a lot of loving family, she has so many people that love her and adore her,” her worried mother Cassie Matthews told KPRC the day after she disappeared.

Matthews said her daughter was currently living with her father and grandmother.

“Hard is an understatement, this is the stuff you see on TV and you can only imagine what the family and the parents are going through and there’s not words for it,” she told the station.

“There is not one feeling you feel, it’s a roller coaster, you are broken, you are mad, you are empty and right now I am empty.

“She has so many opportunities ahead of her, and she deserves every right to be able to reach those opportunities.”

The sheriff’s office, which is getting help from multiple agencies, including the FBI, said the investigation into Cunningham’s whereabouts is “active and ongoing.”

Authorities were on the lake Sunday as friends of the girl’s family prayed for her safe return.

“I know Audrii loved her grandmother, her father, her brother and family,” resident Chris Boothe said, according to KPRC. “We want Audrii home.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety is offering a $7,000 reward for information tied to the case.

Investigators continue to actively follow leads in this case, but we do not have any significant updates to report at this time,” the department said. “However, law enforcement remains thankful for all the tips being provided and for all the efforts of everyone involved in the search for Audrii.”