Police Find Missing N.C. Girl's Body

5-Year-Old Shaniya Davis Disappeared a Week Ago; Mother, Accused of Offering Child for Sex, Appears Briefly in Court

(CBS/AP)  Updated 6:22 p.m. EST

A missing 5-year-old whose mother was accused of offering her for sex was found dead off a heavily wooded road in a rural area Monday, ending a weeklong search, police said.

Searchers found Shaniya Davis' body early Monday afternoon about 100 feet off a road southeast of Sanford, in central North Carolina, Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Theresa Chance said. She declined to comment on a cause of death or the condition of Shaniya's body.

"We've got a lot of people out at the scene right now that are torn up," Chance said. "Detectives have been running off adrenaline to find this little girl and to bring her home alive. You have a lot of people in shock right now."

Two people have been charged in her disappearance, one of them her mother, Antoinette Davis, 25. Police charged Davis with human trafficking and felony child abuse, saying Shaniya was offered for prostitution.

Davis was calm and quiet during a five-minute court appearance in Fayetteville on Monday afternoon. She provided one-word answers to the judge's questions and held her hands in front of her, without handcuffs. She requested a court-appointed attorney and did not enter a plea.

Her sister, Brenda Davis, 20, said outside that she does not believe the charges.

"I don't believe she could hurt her children," said Brenda Davis, who was able to speak to her sister at the jail Sunday.

Authorities also charged Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, with kidnapping after they said surveillance footage from a Sanford hotel showed him carrying Shaniya there. Authorities said McNeill admitted taking the girl, though his attorney said he will plead not guilty.

Davis reported Shaniya missing Tuesday. Authorities first arrested a man named Clarence Coe, but charges against him were dropped a day later when investigators tracked down McNeill after receiving a tip from a hotel employee.

Additional information led investigators to a search site near Sanford on Sunday. They continued searching Monday, scouring miles of landscape, roads, ravines and fields on four-wheelers and with helicopters.

After Shaniya's body was found, a solemn group of searchers met quietly at a nearby fire station to ensure that all volunteers were accounted for.

"We were hoping that someone could carry her home," said Syd Severe, 42, who came from Raleigh to help with the search. "It's just sick."

A cluster of emergency vehicles and law enforcement personnel gathered where Shaniya's body was found, about a quarter mile from N.C. Highway 87. Authorities blocked access to the road, a rural area popular with hunters that is less than a mile from a large lakeside community.

Chance said later Monday that authorities were waiting for an official identification but had called off the search for Shaniya. State investigators were planning to remove her body from the scene.

Shaniya's father, Bradley Lockhart, said he raised his daughter for several years but last month decided to let her stay with her mother. He had pleaded for her safe return.

Lockhart told The Associated Press on Saturday that he and Davis never argued about him raising Shaniya, and Cumberland County courts had no record of a custody dispute. He described his relationship with Davis as a "one-night stand" and said he did not know McNeill.

During an appearance on CBS' "The Early Show" Monday morning, Lockhart expressed hope Shaniya would be found.

"I've been feeling hopeful every day," he told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "that someone out there would do the right thing and take my daughter somewhere to a hospital, police station, just anywhere safe, drop her off at Walmart, anywhere, I don't care. Just so somebody can find her and bring her back to the people that love her."

Lockhart raised Shaniya for four years with help from his sister, Carey Lockhart-Davis, who had been like a mother-figure for Shaniya. But Lockhard gave Shaniya to the girl's mother because, he says, she had a job, seemed more stable and told him she wanted the role of Shaniya's mom.

"I just want you to bring her back. She's an amazing, breathtaking individual," an emotional Lockhart-Davis told Rodriguez. "She has a calendar at school, and when you're good, your daily calendar, you get a little blue mark on it. And, every day, she came home with a blue mark. And she would walk in the door and she'd say, 'Aunt Carrie, I got another blue mark, I got another blue mark!' And then she'd get her treat and we'd go out back and we'd play and -- she was smart. And just so happy and full of joy. And I just ask that, at this time, please just let her go. She doesn't deserve this. Have a kind heart."

Lockhart said, when he heard of the accusations against Antoinette Davis, he felt totally numb. "Just everything inside of you falls out," Lockhart said. "You just lose all train of thought. Reaction is none. You just -- you just hope for the best."

He admitted he had some reservations about giving Shaniya back to her mother but, "She had been trying, and I know that she had been working for at least six months, and she had been trying to get her life back on track, and she said she had just recently got her own place. So I was wanting to give her a chance. She had asked if she could be a mother, and I felt that she was sincere in asking. And I figured to give her a chance."

Davis struggled financially over the years, but she recently obtained a job and her own place, so Lockhart said he decided to give her a chance to raise their daughter.

"I should've never let her go over there," he said Saturday night.

A friend at Lockhart's home Monday afternoon said Lockhart did not want to speak with reporters.

[-----------danielle]

This is so sad! It breaks my heart what happen to this little girl.The ultiment betrayal.But this seems to be the knew trend with mothers killing thier own kids or offering thier children up to the devils out there in the world.Something has to be done laws need to be made.Once these pieces of trash are found guilty give them the electic chair, or cause them to suffer to death the same way their child did. No exuses! drug addicts,depression,menstrual cycle to bad.. Then will see how many women hurt their kids or how many monsters want have sex with them.Child sex trade is becomeing more popular and its awful to say but unless something is done now this wont't be the last horiffic thing we hear about.We must honor Shaniya and try the best we can to protect these young babies and children.

[britthill]

I do not doubt: Mc Neill killed or did something wrong to that child. Also, I think the mother sounds so irresponsible in everyway, the father should have never gave his daughter over to the mother. He apparently was taking a chance-gambling with his daughter's future by handing her over to such an unstable idiot. It's unfortunute that whomever did it, and anyone who was responsible may never get the punishment they deserve. It makes people lose faith in any innocence-but that's letting them win. Imagine being raised in a world in which there were strict and dire consequences for such actions. Imagine that the true in-human criminals, the rapists, the ignorant injustices of these animals, could slowly disapeer. Imagine a world of no greed and corruption, where we could trust the powerful and the law. Imagine being taught that all of those in-humanly cruel particles of waste (criminals) were tortured and experimented on, curing the people whom deserve it with that technology. Criminals should not be able to leave anything behind for their families either-that's all much of them want. If they were told that their hard work led to their money paying for the torture devices that were about to punish them-they wouldn't do whatever the crime was. If the "person" at hand is hopeless, if it has been proven more than once that this person is a waste-they need to be treated like it. Don't waste any money-break their bodies while they're still alive-shove them down the mortal garbage shoot-tear their skin and their eyes if you must-if someone wants to take a stand for them-send them out with their garbage. People complaining about improper teqniques of killing killers and such-need to be raped or have someone next to them killed- just in a simulated adventure-so that they may understand the importance of these consequences. It's 90% prevention and 10% intervention. If someone's too stupid to understand-save the air for the rest of us. Cruel Intentions? NO MERCY.
I pray that that little girl didn't experience uneccessary pain. Thank God she's in a safe place.

[danaseilhan]

This isn't about how we treat prisoners. I don't ever want us to become a country that does what the one commenter asked for and treats prisoners like slaves--and that's irrelevant to the crime rate outside of prison, anyway. They can commit crimes out here because WE LET THEM GO. I haven't looked yet, but does this guy have prior rape convictions? Why do we let those men back out? Ever? We shouldn't even be having debates about sex offender registries or where they're allowed to live. THEY SHOULD NOT BE FREE. If you've got a rape or a molestation on your record it should be life in prison. If you kill in the process of committing that kind of crime it should be the death penalty, since we have that anyway, might as well use it for something constructive. And these types of crimes leave the best evidence, there's lots less chance of getting the wrong guy. These guys NEVER rehabilitate. They think they are entitled to hurt women and children. It's time to get rid of them. Permanently.

The father of this child... I feel for him. I don't think he did the wrong thing, necessarily. Just because a mom is struggling does not mean she will be a bad mother, and he had no way of knowing. He shouldn't beat himself up. He truly had good intentions and wanted to do what was best for his daughter. Being a good parent isn't about the toys you can buy, it comes from the heart. It's something, actually, that you do, not who you are. I've been struggling for most of the time I've been a mother but I would NEVER have done something like this. I hope he can find peace someday.

[nativeamerican01]

What lawyer in their right mind would defend such scum. They themselves would have to be the scum of the earth themselves. Like minded.

[nativeamerican01]

I am appalled at how we, the United States of America, have let our nation become. We are the reason things like this is going on. This man is a habitual criminal that needed to dealt with a long time ago. Now we are going to feed and clothe this man and give him free medical care and any other need that may arise. It is not right. What are we gonna do keep building prisons? Put him in jail 5 or 6 years before he is granted a trial? We need to take another approach. Instead of giving criminals all the rights. They need no rights. Strip them of everything but their names and make them work in HARD labor. Instead of bulldozer and backhoes let them use picks and shovels with 12 gauges pointed at their heads. We as a nation is in a sorry state. It is just pitiful. May God have mercy on our souls.

[o_nolan1]

Why does the US have so many of these types of heinous crimes? Mass shootings, religious wackos, child prisoners. I understand that these things happen elsewhere, but why so often in America?

Is there something fundamentally wrong with your country and it's national psyche? Can someone please give me an hones answer?

[nativeamerican01]

The government has broken the foundation that we were built on. We use to be a nation who believed and relied on God. Now we are a nation that relies on what our government says, and it says that we are not to mention the Lord. They have taken prayer out of our schools and the devil moved in. Look for anything to happen. Nothing surprises me anymore.

[presjfk]

We have a sick society. Socialism for the wealthy, capitalism for everyone else. We have Puritanical moral values that find vulgarity and disgust in sex but amusement in murder. Our politics are corrupt. The public are ignorant, easily mislead and deep in debt. We are a nation of the so-called God fearing, yet hypocritical and self-righteous kind that project our fears and wants onto the world both culturally and militarily. We lie to each other and to ourselves;we are the best, the biggest, the most holy, the most caring, the most giving people. None of that is true. We are the most selfish, ungracious, most dangerous and self-loathing nation on the planet. We have a pathetic health and education system. Our nation is made of laws many of which should not exist; laws often ignored or enforced for the benefit of those in power and for profit but not for the benefit of people the law should serve. 1% of the population control nearly all the wealth and power. All this and we call our nation a democracy. I would call it smoke and mirrors.

The Roman empire lasted over a thousand years. If our empire should last 300 would be a surprise to me.

I am a 51 year old single parent and I have an 8 year old Bi-Racial daughter that is the spitting image of Shaniya. I have read all the comments that many leave here and them questioning God, but to really be proactive here is the answer. I sought to volunteer for a children advocacy group that allow you to speak on the behalf of the child. I had enough of people talking. It is time we as a human race take back our children. I hosted my own radio show, had a kids day weekend for children with a proclamation from the city, coached a little league basketball team and never sought anything but to see a child smile. I saw my daughter who I cherish in the face of Shaniya. The poor little angel went willingly for she was so innocent. How many more Shaniya's in the world. I urge all of you to stop talking and start acting. Take backour kids. I know God have his reasons for such tragedies and this tragedy have stirred in me a new hope and it begins with me. I want to end this message with a quote from one of my favorite people, Edmond Burke. " All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. I was active in the group Save The Children in the 80's but over the course of time organizations like that phase out of existence. I ask each of you to Save The Children,it is not about money.. It is your time and from your comments many of you have Hearts of Gold. If we save just one from the same fate as Shaniya this have not been in vain. I know Shaniya is looking down from heaven and smiling from the emotional stir she has caused. I encourage you to get active and productive and you shall see the difference you can make in a child's life, a family life, a community life and how that change affect your life. It takes a village to raise a child.. Let us now become that village.

[believe09]

I agree enough crying and talking. I'm not willing to let this happen to another child, but what can an average person do. I want to speak out on stiffer penalties for this type of crime. As a teacher, I want to protect my own children and others. Do you have any suggestions on where to start?

[ginasings]

I live in Jefferson City MO, where 9 year old Elizabeth Olten was killed not long ago. This is so sad when children are not safe anymore. If the accusations are true, the mother obviously has some issues. Even if the prostitution part is not true, the mother had to given the girl to this man. The little girl's father thought he was doing the right thing in bringing the mother back into his daughter's life. We can't blame him because she put up a very good front. I am praying for the father and his sister's well being because I am sure there are a lot of guilty feelings right now. I pray for the soul of the mother and the man involved. Man! They will need it! God has another angel in His Kingdom. Gone too soon! My heart is aching!

[shortnsassy167]

I don't know what it is but for some reason this story about this child has really gotten to my heart, I feel like my heart strings have been pulled out, she was such a beautiful child and to think the mother could just turn around and sell her is absolutely dusgusting. The "perp" should get what he deserves, and the mother, well she will get what's coming to her. May that child's soul rest in peace if she can.

[ryanbl]

I am so sick about people arguing about moral absolutes. There ARE absolutes. Just scroll over to the third picture and see that thug smiling in his mugshot. That is EVIL. There is a right and wrong and we will all pay the piper one day. Where is my college sociology professor to tell us how this isnt evil, its all relative and we just need to better understand and tolerate parents who sell their kids. The only positive is that the girl doesnt have to deal with this anymore. WE all know that if she lived, some judge would just reunite her with her mom after six months of foster care. Lock them both up with that chimp that went crazy the other month and put in on PPV for all the other potential offenders to see.