NEW BRAUNFELS — It was bitterly cold the February night that Joshua Davis Jr. went missing from his home in New Braunfels.
It had snowed that morning, so the 18-month-old’s parents, Joshua Davis and Sabrina Benitez, said they had kept him indoors. The cold aggravated Joshua’s asthma, a condition that had sent him to the hospital a handful of times since he was born.
Benitez said Joshua was last seen watching TV with family in the living room just before 8 p.m.
And then he was gone.
The search involved the FBI, Texas Rangers and search-and-rescue dogs. Hundreds of volunteers combed brushy scrubland and dense thickets near the subdivision where the family lived.
Six months later, Joshua is still missing. No body has been found. No suspects. And no solid leads.
Still, Davis and Benitez are hopeful he’s alive. Today , they plan to mark his second birthday with a prayer vigil.
“It’s still his day,” Davis said. “It’s still his birthday.”
Jerome Davis, Joshua’s grandfather, said he had been resting in his bedroom — his knees were aching from arthritis — when Benitez came in to ask if he had seen Joshua that night in February. They searched the house, and then, he said, he called 911 because Benitez couldn’t — she was shaking too hard.
“He was the sweetest little kid you would ever want to see,” the elder Davis said, shaking his head. “That was my baby. Always smiling.”
Davis and Benitez no longer live at the house on Savannah Hill Circle. They’ve moved in with Benitez’s mother, who lives about three miles away, with their new son, Jeidan. Benitez gave birth to him two weeks after Joshua was reported missing.
But an 8½-by-11-inch poster taped to the door of the trailer, where Davis’ father still lives, asks anyone with information about Joshua’s disappearance to call the New Braunfels Police Department.
Back on Savannah Hill Circle, Gracie Muñoz, a kindergarten teacher who lives with her family next door, said the police scoured their home that night, including the refrigerator. In all, the home was searched three times, she said, once with dogs sniffing under the trailer.
In daylight, Joshua’s street is quiet. His home is nestled among two blocks of mobile homes, most tidy and well-maintained. Most front yards looked played in, with swing sets and overturned bikes cluttering the lawns.
Joshua loved playing with toys, Benitez said. Her son enjoyed taking baths and the movie “Toy Story 3.”
Davis said his namesake just liked being with them.
Lt. Heath Purvis with the New Braunfels Police Department said the investigation is ongoing and a high priority for the department but that detectives are only receiving about one tip a week. In the beginning of the investigation, police received as many as four tips a week, totaling about 250 in the past six months.
Purvis wouldn’t say whether investigators believe Joshua was abducted.
“One of the things we’ve never had is a good, solid tip that allows us to move in any particular direction, to really get it going, really dive into the investigation,” he said. Without any new leads, it could become a cold case, he said.
Detectives have exhausted every lead, Purvis said, and the Texas Rangers and FBI are still assisting as needed.
“A lot of this stuff remains a mystery,” Purvis said. “We’re always looking for that extra clue that will help us break the case open.”
Benitez and Davis said they suspect someone close to the family abducted Joshua. Nine friends and family were at the house the night Joshua was reported missing, Benitez said. She believes someone close to the family is responsible.
“He didn’t just vanish into thin air,” Davis said.
Benitez said people in their community have pulled away from her and Davis since Joshua disappeared. Some people thought they were guilty, she said, judging her by her appearance, including her tattoos.
Sitting in front of a coffee table on which a poster of his missing son rests, Davis said people questioned his devotion to his son.
“People say, ‘Maybe he couldn’t put up with being a dad,'” Davis said. Leaning forward, elbows on his knees, he added: “That’s my man. He’s a part of me.”
Independently, Benitez and Davis have hired a private investigator, she said, and continue to pass out fliers with Joshua’s picture. A banner in front of Benitez’s mother’s house offers a $5,000 reward for his recovery.
“We’re living on our faith,” Davis said. “Keeping our faith alive. Keeping our trust in the Lord alive.”
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
