Found Deceased TX - Maliyah 'Tootie' Bass, 2, Houston, 22 Aug 2020 *arrests*

[YaYa_521]

Recent press conference w/ HPD Chief: "We need to bring justice to this family. I'm highly confident that foul play is involved in this case." Also asking for Ring footage, house or business security camera footage by the bayou. Asking anyone jogging near the bayou or upstream that if they saw any suspicious vehicles or individuals in the past 24-36 hours to call Homicide or Crime Stoppers.

https://twitter.com/houstonpolice/status/1297610746277183489
HPD Chief @artacevedo briefs media on scene of child found deceased in southeast Houston bayou #hounews

Houston Police @houstonpolice

Thanks for the links. HPD seems pretty confident this was foul play and that they'll "catch him". Good to hear.

 

[insearchoflight]

So heartbreaking. A “murder investigation” as far as he is concerned (via press conference).

 

[Bravo]

Such a beautiful little girl. Forever 2

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I'll reserve speculating until more info is released by LE/ME. It doesn't take but a few seconds for a child to disappear. We're not all super-human parents and grandparents. We get comfy in our surroundings and routines and with that, we sometimes let our guards down while "real life" happens. Moreover, if homicide investigators are out there, odds are there are reasons to believe someone took and harmed Tootie. That someone could have very well planned this ahead of time by simply being familiar with the family and their routine.

Ita YaYa! The saddest thing is Tootie should have been safe playing like little kids love to do. We are living in such wicked times now.

I haven't seen anything that makes me believe her parents had any part in this so my heart breaks for them, and everyone who loves her. Their little baby girl was taken from them, and their lives won't ever be the same. Her mom will wrestle with guilt for the rest of her life.

But it's like you've said, it is humanly impossible to watch children every second of their lives.

Those who it's never happened to were just lucky because evil can rear its evil head anywhere at anytime...at any second. We live in a rural area so all five of our children often played outside growing up. Both my hubby, and I were very attentive, protective parents, but to say we watched them 24/7 would not be only impossible, but disengenious if we said we did. I know now we were lucky because predators can be, and are everywhere even in what is known as very safe areas/locations.

The parents may not have even been aware RSOs lived there. Not everyone checks to see. And it easily could be someone who isn't even a RSO. It could be one that hasn't been caught before. We will just have to wait, and see.

I do feel it's most likely someone who lives there or has visited frequently. They may have been watching Tootie for some time before seeing the opportunity to strike.

It reminds me of another case in Georgia. Sorry it was a few years ago so I've forgotten the little victim's name now, but iirc a teen boy who lived there lured her away from the playground right in front of her apartment she lived in. Her mom had just gone inside to get her little girl something to drink. However, he threw her body in a dumpster there because he had no transportation.

Since Tootie was taken 15 miles away this suspect may be older or at least of age where they have a vehicle to drive.

Now that the homicide investigators are on the scene they will review the footage of every vehicle leaving the area at the time she went missing so hopefully an arrest will happen soon.

Jmho

 

[NewMama]

I will never forget a police visit in elementary school. I remember the officer speaking to bikes being stolen and it was along the lines of, "The only person to blame is the person who stole your bicycle." His point was, it wasn't our fault if we forgot to put a lock on the bicycle - we were not to blame - only the thief. That always comes back to mind when cases like these happen and the parents are not invol

Recent press conference w/ HPD Chief: "We need to bring justice to this family. I'm highly confident that foul play is involved in this case." Also asking for Ring footage, house or business security camera footage by the bayou. Asking anyone jogging near the bayou or upstream that if they saw any suspicious vehicles or individuals in the past 24-36 hours to call Homicide or Crime Stoppers.

https://twitter.com/houstonpolice/status/1297610746277183489
HPD Chief @artacevedo briefs media on scene of child found deceased in southeast Houston bayou #hounews

Houston Police @houstonpolice

Thank you for posting, Rainy. Just heartbreaking. May justice be swift.

 

[happyday]

I’ve been all over the place with what I think about this one, but it does sound like they suspect an abduction.

I agree that not everyone knows about RSO’s living close by. I didn’t even know you could check until we had lived in our house probably 6 years! My kids were school age by the time I learned one lived 1 street over!

Poor baby Maliyah. Man I hope they find the monster who did this soon!

 

[oceanblueeyes]

"#BREAKING: Houston Police Chief @ArtAcevedo says there's a high probability that body of a child found this morning in Brays Bayou about a mile from where Maliyah "Tootie" Bass went missing belong to the 2 year old. Waiting for positive ID. He suspects foul play. #KHOU11"
https://twitter.com/davidgonzkhou/status/1297615255745581056?s=21

I haven't seen any statement from Chief Art saying he suspects foul play so please post if anyone finds one.

He says it in the link you just posted for us or maybe I'm not understanding what you mean.

 

[modesty blaise]

Oh boy .

 

[Tracey4AU]

It’s good that she was found so quickly...but what a devastating outcome. Hold your babies tight.

 

[swanniee11]

Makes me sick. I pray her parents had nothing to do with this. It makes it so much harder to comprehend. Prayers to Maliyah and her family. May she rest in peace.
To Houston LE----GO GET EM! IMO

 

[MsMarple]

Dog passed out? Chopper ran out of gas? If true, that's some pretty darned bad luck/preparation going on with HPD. I'm not sure what I'm feeling just yet.

According to the mother's boyfriend Maliyah's mom had gone inside to fix Maliyah and the boyfriend something to eat. Even a quick sandwich takes more than a couple minutes to make so the window could be more like 10 or 15 minutes, plenty of time for someone to make off with Maliyah. Please note this is an observation only and I'm not pointing fingers at anyone right now.
https://twitter.com/MattKHOU

Yesterday HPD said:

Police searched the area and reviewed surveillance video, Smith said. They found no evidence in the video that Bass left the complex.
Houston police searching for missing girl Maliyah Bass

But clearly Maliyah did leave the complex. The area is pretty densely populated so I'm confident LE will find more video. Sad as it is her body being found so quickly may better reveal what happened.

 

[Flight154]

It sounded like the boyfriend was inside the house?? Is that a correct assumption?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I’ve been all over the place with what I think about this one, but it does sound like they suspect an abduction.

I agree that not everyone knows about RSO’s living close by. I didn’t even know you could check until we had lived in our house probably 6 years! My kids were school age by the time I learned one lived 1 street over!

Poor baby Maliyah. Man I hope they find the monster who did this soon!

Iirc, LE did say Tootie was abducted. They had to have their reasons then to believe an abduction occured.

They may already have a POI.

It should be rather easy to track down which vehicles left around the time she was abducted by looking at the camera footage.

I'm sure after she was reported missing LE checked all vehicles coming in, and out after then.

Jmho

 

[amourme1027]

Well I‘m not sure she was walking down the street now—I was basing this on all the comments to the article. People were saying that, but I can’t find that in the two articles I can find. They just say she was seen carrying a pillowcase w/blocks in it. I’m not sure where they got that, but no matter what—where is this baby?

Sorry if this has already been asked , but why would she have a pillow case with blocks?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Sorry if this has already been asked , but why would she have a pillow case with blocks?

Mobile toy storage. She probably loved them and wanted to carry them around with her.

 

[rainynights]

Sorry if this has already been asked , but why would she have a pillow case with blocks?

According to this link, she became upset when her mother's bf broke her toy box. So he gave her the pillow case to use instead.

Body of child found in Brays Bayou following Amber Alert for missing Maliyah Bass

 

[Bravo]

I have a very bad feeling about all this. For now

 

[branmuffin]

There's not a snowball's chance in hell that this poor little girl fell into the bayou near her home and drifted over 15 miles to where she was found.

We know this is foul play. An autopsy will let us know if she drowned. And if she did, is the water in her lungs the water from the bayou or some other body of water?

If she has obvious signs of trauma on her little body will they be ascribed to currents in a moving body of water or were they delivered antemortem?

When a child is dead, I don't know what's worse: caregivers being responsible or a random offender. Regardless, the result is the same.

 

[MsMarple]

It sounded like the boyfriend was inside the house?? Is that a correct assumption?

That's the gist I got. It was hard to hear some of what he was saying as he broke down almost immediately. I also got the feeling he is Maliyah's bio dad from the way he spoke but currently there's nothing in msm to verify it.

ETA: Oops, I stand corrected. From a link upthread from @rainynights:

Two-year-old Maliyah Bass's adopted grandmother, Angel Harris, is in distress at the 5200 block of Carrolton Street after a small child's body was found deceased in Braes Bayou Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Houston. Harris' son, Travion Thompson, has been dating Maliyah's mother, Sahara Simonee Ervin, for four months. The child was last seen playing at the playground of an apartment complex at 10600 block of Beechnut Street at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
...
Travion Thompson, 21, who has been dating Maliyah’s mother for the past four months, said he felt like a father to the missing girl. Distraught and in tears, he said he last saw Maliyah before she went to the park. The child, he said, had been upset because he had broken her toy box. He gave her the pillow case — which he described as blue and white — to carry her toys instead, Thompson continued.

“We don’t even live over here,” Thompson cried, as Maliyah’s mother comforted him.
Body of child found in Brays Bayou following Amber Alert for missing Maliyah Bass

 

[alex dvport]

So is someone talking ? Would like to know circumstances and who found her if the reports are true

In this article, it said that police were notified by joggers. Foul play 'highly suspected' after body believed to be missing 2-year-old found in bayou