Houston police need the public’s help finding the person responsible for the death of a 12-year-old girl. The unidentified child was reportedly found in a shallow waterway around 6 a.m. June 17. Police believe the young girl may have snuck out of her family’s apartment the night before, but details are unclear at this time. Homicide detectives are investigating the girl’s death.
Police and Houston Mayor John Whitmire addressed the media in a news conference on June 17. Officials declined to identify the girl but did say she was white. Her family is devastated, and police are hoping someone will come forward with information leading to a suspect.
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The girl allegedly left her house late the night before.
Lt. Stephen Hope said during the news conference that police believe the 12-year-old girl snuck out of her family’s apartment late Sunday night. Authorities are reviewing surveillance from the area near her family's apartment, hoping to piece together how she went from home and ended up in the water. She was discovered early Sunday morning in a creek at 400 West Rankin Road, which is near her apartment.
A dive team began investigating.
Hope said a dive team was brought to look at the scene, and the homicide division was investigating the girl’s death. He declined to give any information about the state of the girl’s body and whether she was injured before her death.
“Anytime a body is found in a waterway, we will call for a dive team,” Hope said. “This was shallow water but it is their expertise to be able to go in and make sure that not only the body, but any other evidence in that waterway will be found.”
It is still being determined whether the girl snuck out to meet someone late at night.
According to police, the girl wasn’t reported missing, and police are not sure if she died in the water or if her body was taken to the creek and left there. Hope would not disclose whether the girl was communicating with anyone before she died but asked anyone with information to contact police.
“We are asking that anyone with any knowledge of this incident or any information surrounding this incident please call and help our investigators find the perpetrator of this incident,” Hope said.
The mayor called on Houston residents to help.
He told Houstonians that finding a suspect and determining how the girl died is the utmost priority at this time.
“Too often we re-arrest repeat violent offenders, but we won’t rest and this is an example of why public safety will continue to be our highest priority in my administration and working with HPD,” Whitmire said.
“We need additional staffing,” he added. “HPD is stretched way too thin. Houston Fire is stretched way too thin. Public safety will continue to be my highest priority.”
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The girl’s family is heartbroken.
Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite told the media he’d spoken with the child’s mother, whose life will never be the same.
“We believe somebody did this horrible thing to her. I’ve talked to this child’s mother. Of course, she is devastated. Her family is devastated. Her little girl is gone,” Satterwhite said.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS or the police department’s homicide division at 713-308-3600.
