The biological father of toddler Maliyah Bass wants answers. It’s been two weeks since the child was found dead in a bayou and although police suspect foul play, no suspects have been arrested.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, a jogger found the 2-year-old Maliyah’s body floating in Brays Bayou, off of the 5200 block of Carrolton Street in SW Houston on August 23. So far, a cause of death has not been confirmed.
Maliyah was last seen playing in the playground of the Sunset Crossing apartments in SW Houston on August 22.
The child’s mother, Sahara Ervin, told Fox 7 that she had been watching from a nearby window as Maliyah played at the apartment complex playground. Ervin said she turned away momentarily and when she looked back, her daughter was gone.
“This is really devastating to me. Who could be watching my baby to even snatch her from the park?” Ervin asked.
Maliyah lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, according to authorities.
The child’s father, Octavious Bass, lives in Dallas. Bass expressed his frustration about the child’s mother leaving the child alone and lack of answers on how Maliyah ended up in a bayou.
“It doesn’t matter if it was 5 minutes, 2 minutes or 1 minute. Why would you do that?” Bass asked, questioning why Maliyah’s mother left her at a playground.
KHOU 11 reports that Bass brought his daughter’s remains to Dallas, where he wants to give her a proper funeral. In the meantime, he is pushing for answers and hoping whoever harmed his child will do the right thing and come forward.
“I just want justice. I just want to put her to rest and get justice for her,” Bass said.
Tim Miller, the founder of Texas EquuSearch said that authorities are keeping an eye on a certain area that may have evidence connected to the case.
“There’s an area that’s being protected right now as we speak in case we need to go to that area and look for some other evidence,” Miller said.
Authorities said they’re treating the case as a murder investigation.
Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is our latest episode.
[Feature Photo: Maliyah Bass/Facebook]
