NC Girl, 5, Still Missing; Mom Charged

Faces trafficking charge after man seen with daughter at hotel
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 15, 2009 6:23 AM CST
NC Girl, 5, Still Missing; Mom Charged
An image made from surveillance video shows a man carrying 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in a hotel in Sanford, NC. Davis was spotted in Sanford with a man identified as Mario Andrette McNeill.   ((AP Photo/Fayetville, NC Police Dept.))

The mother of a 5-year-old girl who disappeared Tuesday in North Carolina was charged yesterday with human trafficking and other offenses, though authorities said they still did not know the girl's whereabouts. Antoinette Nicole Davis, the mother of Shaniya Davis, faces a child abuse charge involving prostitution as well as filing a false police report, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.

A man described as Davis' boyfriend was arrested Wednesday in the kidnapping but later released. Surveillance footage showed Mario Andrette McNeill carrying Shaniya into a hotel room about 40 miles away on Tuesday; he was arrested and charged with kidnapping Friday. Authorities have said McNeill admitted to taking the girl, though his attorney says he will plead not guilty to the charge. Davis is due in court tomorrow. (More Shaniya Davis stories.)

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