UPDATE: Police say the cell phone found along Patterson Road in West Houston is not linked to 4-year-old Maleah Davis’s case.
Earlier, the Houston Chronicle reported that a volunteer search and rescue group found the phone.
But police tell The Chronicle the group that found the phone is not Texas EquuSearch volunteers, “instead it’s an independent group who started searching on their own yesterday. Miller expressed frustration with groups like this who are working w/out help of law enforcement.”
EquuSearch founder Tim Miller told the Houston Chronicle the cell phone was found around noon Friday along Patterson Road.
Derion Vence, who was engaged to Maleah’s mother, was the last person to see the girl alive. She was reported missing on Saturday, May 4, after Vence claimed he was carjacked by three Hispanic males who struck him over the head and took Maleah the night before.
Vence was arrested on Saturday, May 11, after his story unraveled. He was charged with tampering with a corpse and is being held on $45,000 bond.
The discovery of the cell phone is important because it could contain GPS data that may lead police to the location where Vence disposed of Maleah’s remains.
Vence may have intentionally discarded the phone to make it more difficult for police to track his movements on the day Maleah went missing.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo believes Maleah was murdered. Acevedo held a press conference on Thursday to give a brief update on the missing girl.
Acevedo told the media his only suspect, Vence, knows where Maleah’s body is but he continues to lie about his involvement.
“You could drive a big rig right through the tales this guy has been telling,” Acevedo said.
Acevedo pleaded with the public to help find Maleah’s body to give her a proper burial and bring closure to her family.
“The evidence shows that we believe she has been murdered. Let’s bring this baby home, proper burial,” he said. “Without finding that body, there is a hole left out there. We want to give them the closure, of both charges and finding her body.”
