The search for a Virginia girl who has seemingly been lost by the adults caring for her resumes, according to police.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 3-year-old Khaleesi Cuthriell was reported missing on September 3, when the child’s currently incarcerated mother, Amanda Arey, contacted a jail employee with concerns.
Arey, who went to jail in October 2020, reportedly said she allowed a friend, Candi Royer, to take care of Khaleesi, even drawing up a written diversionary agreement with the assistance of social workers. Arey said she then heard that Royer’s aunt had been taking care of the child and also heard a grandmother was watching her.
When police started searching for the child, they realized that no one could provide information on Khaleesi’s whereabouts or who was taking care of her.
“Several friends and family of Royer also reported to investigators being told this by Royer, and that the child has not been seen with Royer since February of this year. Investigators later determined this to be untrue, and that Khaleesi Cuthriell’s whereabouts are currently unknown,” ACSO Sheriff Donald L. Smith wrote on Facebook.
Earlier this week, the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office announced that police arrested Candi Royer and her reported boyfriend, Travis Brown, without incident at a Knight’s Inn motel in South Greensburg, Pennsylvania, this week. Virginia authorities issued a warrant for the pair on child abuse and endangerment charges and worked with Pennsylvania investigators to bring them into custody.
Meanwhile, Smith said the search for the child “is fierce,” NBC 12 reports.
“It’s growing by the day. It’s becoming a joint investigation between the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, and I called in the FBI as well,” Smith said.
“We’re canvassing the people that know Travis Brown and Candi Royer, talking to friends and family, talking to all of them trying to piece together when’s the last time this child was seen.”
Anyone with any information about the case is urged to contact the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 245-5333.
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[Featured Photo: Khaleesi Cuthriell/Police Handout]
