AMBER Alert Update: Little girl allegedly abducted by ‘three men in a truck’ has medical needs after three previous brain surgeries
by

A little girl at the center of a Texas AMBER Alert, after she was allegedly abducted Friday, has special medical needs after undergoing several surgeries, according to the Houston Police Department.

During a Sunday afternoon press conference, Sargent Mark Holbrook with the Houston Police Department announced that 5-year-old Maleah Davis developed a traumatic brain injury that required numerous surgeries. He added that the injury didn’t have anything to do with any kind of abuse.

“Maleah has had multiple brain surgeries, most recently end of March, early April, to fix the flap for her injury, so that the flap will grow at the same rate as her skull. I wouldn’t call her special needs, but she’s needed a lot of care. And she was sick this week too.”

How do you protect your children from predators? Join Nancy Grace and a team of world class experts for the online course ‘Justice Nation: Crime Stops Here’.

“Having to have brain surgery, having a loose piece of your skull, is serious business, that requires constant care, constant evaluation by parents, puts you at risk for a whole host of things. I’m no doctor, but it’s not good,” Holbrook added.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Maleah’s stepfather, Darion Vence, 26, told authorities he was driving a silver Nissan Altima along Greens Road and Highway 59 on Friday evening when he heard a “popping noise” coming from his vehicle.

Vence told police he had two children in the car, his toddler son and stepdaughter Maleah, and was on his way to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport to pick up the children’s mother.

Vence said he pulled over to check the tires on his vehicle and within a few minutes, three unknown Hispanic males pulled up in a blue 2010 Chevrolet crew cab pickup. Vence said two men got out of the truck, and while one made comments about Maleah, the other reportedly struck him in the head.

“On of them makes a comment and says, ‘Maleah looks very nice, very sweet,’” Holbrook said, referring to the stepfather’s version of events. “The other man hits Darion in the head. Darion loses consciousness. Darion is able to wake up during a period of time and he was in the back of the blue truck.”

Around 6 p.m. on Saturday, Vence, in and out of consciousness, woke up to find himself and his son on Highway 6 in Sugar Land with his 1-year-old son, according to what he told authorities. Maleah was not with him. Vence said he walked to Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land and arrived around 11 p.m. on Saturday.

The car Vence was driving Friday, which belongs to Maleah’s mother, was spotted on security footage Saturday afternoon at around 2 p.m. driving around Sugar Land. The vehicle is also missing. According to the police, the car has a temporary license tag, with number, 330-92G9.

“The motive in the kidnapping incident and its original north Houston location are unknown at this time. Investigators have been interviewing family members throughout the morning,” Houston police said earlier on Sunday.

Maleah is described as a black female who was last seen wearing sneakers, a light blue zip-up jacket, blue jeans, and a pink bow in her hair. She stands 3 feet tall and weighs around 30 to 40 pounds.

According to Holbrook, family members ended up picking up the children’s mother from the airport, who never reported the children missing herself. Holbrook added that police have talked to Maleah’s biological father, who has been cooperative in the investigation and hasn’t been named a suspect.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact authorities immediately the Houston Police Department at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.

The story is still developing. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

Join Nancy Grace for her new online video series designed to help you protect what you love most – your children.

[Feature Photo: Maleah Davis/Police Handout]