Yes, there are coyotes in the neighborhood, I saw one recently. However there have been very few human deaths due to them. Around this time last year there was a cat that got cut in half and half of it got left on the owners front yard. There have also been some other mysterious animal deaths around here, especially around this time last year.
i also feed the Ferals and have seen less and less of them lately, but that could be due to the success of TNR.
now because of her size I could see her as a potential prey for a coyote but I doubt that is what happened.
what I do wonder is if this was a regular punishment- putting her outside- and the wrong person knew it, saw it, and snatched her.... although the dad does seem like he did something to her.
there are a lot of underground tunnels crisscrossing the railroad area, and I can tell you, on the Dallas side (she's right on the boarder of Dallas and Richardson) have not been searched.
However the FBI is now involved so I am sure those areas will be searched soon. Dallas PD is notoriously understaffed and incompetent and this part of Dallas is the least policed beat- it's a large city. In fact the area is self policed to an extent, which is pathetic. Richardson is much more competent but they don't step on Dallas grounds much.
there are a lot of underground tunnels, creek areas, and whatnot nearby that you can't see on google maps, and there is a lot of crime around these parts.
in fact the secret is there are hundreds of underground tunnels in Dallas- often pipes that funnel water around during flooding, which happens a lot- to redirect water to the right places. Well when there is no flooding people go into these tunnels a lot, especially the homeless. I see it all the time all over Dallas.
I'm really worried this child could be anywhere.