Water levels had to be lowered

Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said Tuesday that the Trinity River Authority had to lower water levels so divers could find Audrii Cunningham’s body.

Lyons said that when investigators found the 11-year-old in the river, her body wasn’t visible to the naked eye.

Audrii’s body was found Tuesday in the Trinity River near US-59, police said.

Audrii Cunningham found in Trinity River

Polk County Sheriff officials said Don Steven McDougal disclosed to investigators that the Trinity River was one of the locations he visited after Audrii went missing.

McDougal did not tell sheriff’s officials that the 11-year-old’s body was in the river, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said on Tuesday.

Instead, Lyons said they used cell phone records and surveillance footage to zero in on the Trinity River.

Cause of death not revealed

Audrii Cunningham, 11, who vanished while on her way to a bus stop has been found.

Cunningham’s remains were pulled from the Trinity River after she went missing in Livingston, Texas, about an hour north of Houston, on February 15.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office revealed officials were able to recover Audrii’s body after lowering the water levels on the river.

A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.