Did North Carolina mom hand over five-year-old daughter for prostitution?
Child kidnapper caught on tape. Shaniya is being carried by suspect.
By Salim Jiwa
Fayetteville, NC – Police continued their desperate hunt for a five-year-old girl who is believed to have been kidnapped and they have now arrested her mother, charging her with human trafficking, felony child abuse and prostitution.
Sgt. Tim Tew of Fayetteville police confirmed early Sunday morning that police took Antoinette Nicole Davis into custody overnight and she is being held on a $51,000 bond. She is also accused of filing a false police report raising the possibility that she handed off her child to someone.
The last sighting of the child was at a hotel in Sanford, North Carolina on Tuesday – the day she was reported missing by her mom.
Shaniya Davis - given away.
Surveillance pictures show a man carrying the child in his arms towards an elevator in the lobby.
Police have identified and arrested the suspect seen in the hotel security camera footage and are grilling him about the whereabouts of the child.
“Further investigation has identified the male in the surveillance footage to be 29-year old Mario Andrette McNeill,” said police in a press release. “It is unknown at this time what Mr. McNeill’s connection to the child is, however, the Fayetteville Police Department and family of Miss Davis are pleading with Mr. McNeill to please take Shaniya to the closest law enforcement or medical facility so that she may be safely reunited with her family.”
Shaniya Davis.
Detectives located and arrested McNeill a few hours later and they are continuing to question him about what he did with the child.
An Amber alert was sounded on Tuesday, November 10 for Shaniya.
An air and ground search was launched after police were called to a home at 1116-A Sleepy Hollow Drive at 6:53 a.m. The child’s mother reported Shaniya as having been kidnapped.
“Upon arrival, the mother informed officers that Shaniya was last seen in the residence at 5:30 am this morning. An immediate search of the area is currently on-going with the assistance of Police K-9’s, Fayetteville Fire Department and Cumberland County Sheriffs Office,” said police at the time.
Police said Shaniya was last seen wearing a blue sleep shirt with pink underwear.
Accused mom - suspicion she gave away child.
On Wednesday, police received a call from the hotel in Sanford. The caller, an employee of the hotel, reported seeing the child in the hands of an adult man. The man was identified as McNeill.
“Interviews conducted throughout the night with McNeill revealed new information in this case leading to the dismissal of the prior kidnapping charges against Clarence Coe and the arrest of McNeill for first degree kidnapping,” said police. They did not say how Coe was linked to the situation.
McNeill is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $100,000 secured bond.
Anyone having any information on Shaniya Davis’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Fayetteville Police Department at (910) 433-1856 or to leave an anonymous tip and be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward, please contact Crime Stoppers at (910) 483-8477 (TIPS.)
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