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North Carolina police said they were searching Thursday for a 5-year-old girl who vanished two days ago and have charged one man with kidnapping her.
Clarence Coe, 30, was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon. Theresa Chance, a spokeswoman for the Fayetteville Police Department, said a witness spotted Coe taking the girl out of the trailer park.
"I think it's safe to say this is not a random occurrence," Chance said. Investigators are assuming that Shaniya is in danger.
Barbara Davenport, property manager at Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park where Shaniya was living, said Coe is the boyfriend of the girl's mother, Antoinette Davis, and has visited the trailer park several times.
Investigators have said police dogs did not pick up the child's scent during a search of the neighborhood. Shaniya was reported missing from her a mobile home park around 7 a.m. Tuesday, and her mother last saw the girl that day around 5:30 a.m.
"Our hopes are that she's close by," Chance said.
Coe was being held at the Cumberland County jail, where a worker said records didn't indicate whether he had an attorney. Coe has several criminal charges on his state record, including an April conviction for misdemeanor breaking and entering. He was released from prison in mid-August, according to Department of Correction records.
He was previously convicted of assault on a female, felony breaking and entering, larceny, robbery and other charges dating back to 2001.
Investigators found a blanket that may have belonged to Shaniya in a garbage can outside a neighbor's home. Lt. Alex Thompson said investigators also found other items Shaniya may have been wearing.
Shaniya's mother, Antoinette Davis, and her father, who flew in from out of state, have been speaking with investigators.
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Associated Press Writer Mike Baker contributed to this report from Raleigh.
