This undated photo released by the Houston Police Department shows Maleah Davis. Houston police are trying to determine what happened to the 4-year-old girl after the ex-fiance of her mother said she was taken by men who released him and his 2-year-old son after abducting them as well. An Amber Alert was issued Sunday morning, May 7, 2019, for Maleah Davis. (Houston Police Department via AP)
HOUSTON – The Latest on the disappearance of 4-year-old Maleah Davis (all times local):
9:50 a.m.
A prosecutor says trained dogs detected the scent of human decomposition in the vehicle of a man arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 4-year-old Texas girl.
Derion Vence remains jailed Sunday on a $1 million bond after being arrested a day earlier on a charge of tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse.
Vence told police on May 4 that men in a truck abducted him, Maleah Davis and his 2-year-old son before freeing him and the boy. Maleah is still missing.
During a court hearing Saturday night, a prosecutor said dogs trained to find cadavers reacted to the trunk of the car Vence had claimed was taken by the kidnappers.
Police say the vehicle was used to drop Vence off at a hospital, where he first reported the abduction.
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6 a.m.
The man who reported last weekend that 4-year-old Maleah Davis had been abducted was arrested near Houston in connection with her disappearance and police said they found her blood in his apartment.
Derion Vence, who had lived with Maleah and her mother, was arrested Saturday without incident at his brother's home in Sugar Land, Texas, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) southwest of Houston, a statement from Houston police said. A court document said he was charged with tampering with a human corpse.
Asked if police believe Vence killed Maleah, Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said: "At this point in time those are the charges we have filed and I can't say any more than that."
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