The parents of a missing South Carolina girl have been taken into custody after authorities said they now presume 4-year-old Javeayah Harris is dead.
Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer Jr. announced the tragic development on July 4, saying investigators believe Javeayah had died before she was reported missing on June 30.
“We put every resource available to find Javeayah to bring her home safely,” Sawyer said in a statement. “Sadly, it was already too late to save her the moment the 911 call came in on June 30th. At this time our investigation supports that she has been deceased for at least 1 month.”
Sawyer said Javeayah’s parents, 23-year-old Johmarea Harris and 22-year-old Michilae Herring, have both been arrested and charged with homicide by child abuse. Herring also faces an additional charge of filing a false report.
“This is the hardest announcement in my 36 years working in law enforcement,” Sawyer said. “I am deeply saddened to tell you our investigation and evidence leads us to believe 4-year-old Javeayah Harris is deceased. It is the outcome that we all feared and sadly, it is now what we face and we will face it together as a community. Our search for Javeayah drives on.”
What Happened to Javeayah Harris?
The case began on June 30, when Javeayah’s mother called 911 and reported that the child had vanished while playing near a chicken coop at the family’s home in Aiken, according to The Augusta Press.
At the time, authorities said Javeayah—described by the sheriff’s office as “smart, talkative, and friendly”—had last been seen wearing Minnie Mouse pajamas and a pair of Crocs.
In the days that followed, a massive search effort was launched to try to find the girl. Multiple law enforcement agencies and other first responders joined together to search more than 5,000 acres, according to the sheriff’s office, using helicopters, drones and ground searches.
“We have trained emergency management personnel and law enforcement officers,” the sheriff’s office noted at the time, “who have blanketed the area using proven search and rescue techniques and are not accepting volunteers.”
Yet, the direction of the investigation changed course on July 4, when Sawyer announced that evidence led investigators to now believe that Javeayah died weeks before she was ever reported missing.
Authorities have not provided any information about what led them to draw that conclusion.
The sheriff’s office has said they remain committed to finding Javeayah.
Neighbor Says Others Had Tried to Care For Javeayah Harris
Before law enforcement authorities made the announcement, one of the family’s neighbors, identified only as Ms. Young, told WYFF that something seemed off about the story that the little girl would have just wandered away from home.
“She won’t cross the street; she likes to hold people’s hands,” Ms. Young explained. “Even when she walked to the refrigerator, she still wanted to hold your hand.”
She added that other neighbors in the area had allegedly helped care for the girl after raising concerns about her wellbeing at home.
“They fed her, bathed her, and gave her new clothes and sent her back home,” she told the outlet. “It wasn’t just me; people in that neighborhood noticed the exact same thing.”
Javeayah’s mother reportedly gave birth to another child July 1. The sheriff’s office announced July 4 that the newborn had been placed in the care of other family members, The Augusta Press reported.
Both of Javeayah’s parents were denied bond July 5, WYFF reported. Its unclear whether either has retained an attorney.
Oxygen reached out to the county’s public defender but did not receive an immediate response.
