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Update: 11/16/09
The body of Shaniya Davis has been found along a North Carolina highway. No further details have been released.
Update: 11/15/09
Shaniya Davis' mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, was arrested and charged authorities said Saturday night for human trafficking and other offenses. She has been accused of offering her daughter for prostitution. Antoinette says she doesn't know where her daughter is, but she was also charged with felony child abuse, prostitution and filing a false police report. Authorities still haven't been able to locate Shaniya.
Update: 11/14/09
Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, was arrested Friday for the kidnapping of Shaniya Davis. Investigators are still trying to determine McNeill's connection to Shaniya. Authorities were able to arrest McNeill because of footage found of him on a hotel surveillance video, where McNeill is seen carrying Shaniya.
McNeill has admitted to kidnapping the little girl, but after more than three days, Shaniya is still no where to be found. Shaniya has brown hair and weighs about 40 pounds. If you have any information about her, please contact the Fayetteville police at 910-433-1856.
Shaniya Davis is a 5-year-old girl who went missing from a Fayetteville, N.C., trailer park early Tuesday morning. Her mother reports last seeing her at 5:30 a.m. that morning, and foul play is suspected in her case. On Wednesday, at 11 p.m., police arrested Clarence Coe, 30, and charged him with first-degree kidnapping. Coe maintains his innocence, but police argue that this was not a random arrest.
The Shaniya Davis case has riveted the nation, with her adorable smile gracing the airwaves all across the country. The situation is made even more intriguing by the fact that the family has a history of problems with social service agencies, and their home has been condemned due to massive sewage leaks. Shaniya's neighborhood has three registered sex offenders, but none of them are considered suspects in the case.
Coe, the primary suspect, has a criminal record, including an April conviction of misdemeanor breaking and entering. He also has prior convictions for assault on a female, larceny, robbery, felony breaking and entering, and a multitude of other charges from the past eight years.
When it comes to the case of Shaniya Davis, these thoughts come to mind:
1) If you see child abuse in your community, make sure you report it: Many of us remain silent in the face of suffering and injustice. Personally, I believe in the idea that it takes a village to raise and protect a child. If you see a child in your neighborhood not getting what he or she needs, you may want to consider getting involved. It is clear that even before this incident, beautiful little Shaniya was not getting the love that she deserved, so she was a victim of a crime long before the kidnapping ever took place.
2) It is my hope that our nation can focus on missing black children on a regular basis: I was happy to see Nancy Grace giving more airtime to black kids. At the same time, it is tough for the media to get everyone focused on every kidnapping that takes place in America.
3) Children are regular victims of kidnapping, more so than adults: According to the FBI, 85 to 90 percent of those kidnapped each year are juveniles under the age of 18. According to the Amber Alert registry, a child goes missing every 40 seconds. That means that five children have been kidnapped during the time it took you to read this article. What's worse, up to 500,000 child abductions go unreported. Shaniya is, unfortunately, not the only one of her kind.
We will keep you posted on the Shaniya Davis case. We are all hoping and praying for the best. Although a suspect has been apprehended, the search is still on. If you have information on Shaniya or her whereabouts, please contact the Fayetteville police department at 910-433-1856.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here. 
Comments: (36)
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By: Charidy on 11/13/2009 2:35PM
If I were the hotel employee who saw this little girl I would have kept my eye her until police arrived. I would have even went to the extent of following them especially once they were leaving. If the employee had taken a risk for that little girl she would be with us right now... but now she may not.
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By: ssmith8196 on 11/13/2009 4:51PM
I saw the dad also and agree he seems distressed.
However I cannot understand how the mother has not been involved in asking for her child's return. As for the Dad the media said that she was bounce from place to place and also the authority had several calls from that home and that the house was condemmed because of the sewerage. Why didn't he take his kid away from that miserable life.Something does not add up. I never thought that Clarence Coe was the kidnapper but what do authority means by Coe terrorizing the mother. And now with this McNeill guy why does he smile in his pic. and why does Shaniya seems to be doing fine. She does not appears afraid of him. Is there a reward for finding her? Could that be the motive?
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By: Sebrina on 11/15/2009 12:29PM
@William,I don't agree with your comment about Black people not caring about their children,look at how many White parents have killed their kids this year alone!This is not a Black or White thing this is a Damn shame.There are just as many,if not more White kids being abused my their own parents.So please do not judge based on race.THAT JUST SHOWS STUPIDITY!!!!
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By: F. CAMPBELL on 11/14/2009 2:43PM
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PATHETIC SICK WOMEN WHO PICK-UP LOW-LIFE ANIMALS ? THEY SETTLE FOR NOTHING AND ANYTHING AND RISK THE LIFE OF THEIR CHILDREN ! WOMEN LIKE THIS NEED TO BE ARRESTED TOO !
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By: sugarbowl2009 on 11/14/2009 2:49PM
She is a beautiful child and since she's bi racial, I think that quack boyfriend killed this child because of it..........BEING RACIST GOES BOTH WAYS! What a pathetic hypocritical world in which we live in........... :-(
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By: judy, Az on 11/14/2009 6:14PM
For one thing, blacks to care about there children however like any parent of any race you have bad parents. You watch Nancy Grace and I am sure you here of all the white women murdering children like Casey Anthony and the woman sunday school teacher raped and murdered a child..so lets not talk about race when whites have committed some of the most heinous crimes known to man. Race is and should not be a factor when a child goes missing. Lets just stay focused.
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By: Tony on 11/14/2009 7:50PM
They never show a picture of the momma.....y?
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By: Mrs.Jones on 11/14/2009 9:11PM
After the 1st paragraph, my heart almost burst into pieces. I also think this child is not among the living.
I've stopped watching Nancy Grace because it seemed that she stayed focused on the same missing children for weeks/months/years, even when there was nothing new to report.
The monster that abducted this little girl needs to confess. He is probably thinking with no body, no conviction. Thank Jesus for the video tape. He's going down, one way or another.
Has anyone heard of any new reports surrounding this baby?
@ William, you are soooo out of line.
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By: sugarbowl2009 on 11/14/2009 9:33PM
FOR judy, Az
If you were to read my comment slooooooooowly you would of noticed that I'm speaking of the boyfriend and what he's motive would of been had he killed this child..............Don't jumo to conclusion until you read it forward and backwards! Thanks for your cooperation!
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By: angelsinheaven on 11/14/2009 10:32PM
I am truly sadden by this news to the point that I don't want to want or read any more news. My heart aches for this baby. People need to understand that there are things going on in the U.S. that we (community) need to address. And that is the safety of all our children no matter the ethnicity. These people involved seemed ignorant and stupid and need to rot in jail forever and then some. The boyfriend Coe was angered that he was questioned, my thoughts are "Dude you are guilty too". My thoughts to the mother, "You are garbage", and thoughts to McNeill "evil retard, that needed to be taken off the streets at the ripe age of 18".
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