HOUSTON – A search party organized Sunday evening by family and friends to help find missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis was joined by teams from Texas Equusearch on Monday.
The search resumed at 10:30 a.m. Monday and the teams will be focusing on the area near Highway 59 and Greens Road, according to Texas Equusearch.
A group of five women, friends of the child’s mother, handed out 100 missing person flyers throughout Oyster Creek Park in Sugar Land. The group hopes to get at least one good tip leading to Maleah’s whereabouts.
“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,” said Dominique Bryant, a family friend. “And I figured we could pass the flyers out because this park is always busy."
Bryant helped organize the search party.
Maleah has been missing for 48 hours and counting.
Another friend, Maenesha Gatewood, said she understands all too well how time can slow down where you’re looking for a child. Her son went missing for a short time several years ago.
“The minutes are not like minutes,” said Gatewood. “They’re like an hour, and it’s, like, long. It’s hard and it’s stressful and it’s crying and it’s frustration and because why? That’s the only thing you can ask is, like, why?”
Maleah, her 2-year-old brother and her stepfather, 26-year-old Darion Vence, were heading to George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Friday night. They were on their way to pick up Melah’s mother.
Vence told police he stopped the silver Nissan he was driving on Greens Road and Highway 59 to check on a noise. He said three Hispanic men in a blue 2010 Chevrolet pickup hit him over the head and left him unconscious.
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Police said the last thing Vence remembers is waking up 21 hours later by Highway 6 and Highway 59 in Sugar Land. The men and Maleah were gone.
“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,” said Amber Fannin, a family friend helping with the search.
The 4-year-old recently underwent brain surgery, so Fannin said finding Maleah is even more urgent because Maleah requires constant care.
“If you have her, just please drop her off somewhere safe,” Fannin said. "If you want to keep the car or keep whatever you found, that’s alright, but we just want her back safe and sound.”
The group plans to resume the search for Maleah on Monday if she is not found soon.
If you have any idea where Maleah might be, you can call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
