HOUSTON (AP) - In a story May 7 about a missing Houston girl, The Associated Press, relying on information provided by the police, misspelled the name of the man who told investigators that the girl had been abducted. His name is Derion Vence, not Darion Vence. The AP also reported that police referred to Vence as the girl’s stepfather, but he wasn’t. A spokesman for the girl’s mother says she and Vence lived together and were engaged, but that she recently broke off the engagement.
A corrected version of the story is below:
The Latest: Police say man changed story about missing girl
Police in a suburb of Houston say a Texas man who reported his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter missing repeatedly changed his story during initial interviews.
HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on the search for a 4-year-old girl who was reported missing in Houston (all times local):
7:30 p.m.
Police in a suburb of Houston say a Texas man who reported his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter missing Saturday repeatedly changed his story during initial interviews.
Houston police say Derion Vence told investigators Maleah Davis was abducted more than 24-hours earlier by men in a pickup truck who knocked him out but then let him and his 2-year-old son go.
But Vence was first interviewed by Sugar Land police, and a spokesman for that city’s department says his account “changed several times.”
Houston police are leading the investigation. They say it is ongoing and that they don’t identify “persons of interest or suspects unless charges are filed.”
A phone message requesting comment left at a number listed for Vence was not immediately returned.
Sugar Land is about 22 miles (35 kilometers) southwest of Houston.
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2:30 p.m.
A 4-year-old Houston girl who has been missing since her mother’s boyfriend reported she was abducted had previously been removed from her home by state workers concerned about allegations of physical abuse.
Officials with state Child Protective Services in Houston say Maleah Davis was removed from her home in August after she suffered a head injury and was then returned to the home in February. Her two brothers also were removed over that period. All three were placed with relatives.
CPS caseworkers have been monitoring the home since the children were returned.
Searchers have been looking for the girl since her mother’s boyfriend, Derion Vence, reported Saturday that he pulled over Friday night to check a tire when the men pulled up behind them. Police say Vence said he was knocked unconscious and when he awoke the next day, Maleah was gone.
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