It was a desperation to find her. In the weeks after Maleah Davis’ disappearance, thousands of dollars were pledged to help find the little girl who captured the country.
Now, after the heartbreaking discovery, many are asking what happens to the money pledged to bring her home?
The reward money for Maleah topped off at $27,500.
A little less than half, $12,500 of that came from Crime Stoppers for any information leading to an arrest.
Of that, $5,000 was from Crime Stoppers themselves, and the other $7,500 came from from private donors, including Mayor Turner.
So what happens with that money now that Maleah’s body has been found?
Well, nothing.
Community Activist Quanell X got the location of Maleah’s body after visiting Derion Vence in jail, but it’s against Crime Stoppers policy to give reward money to certain groups, which includes community activists.
In addition, Crime Stoppers says the case is still active and open, which means if tips lead to more arrests, that’s where that money would go.
But if after a year, there are no tips, the $5,000 will go back to Crime Stoppers, and the donors of the $7,500 will be contacted. They will be given the option of having that money refunded or put towards other cases.
As for the remainder of reward money, Houston police pledged $15,000 to finding the little girl, that money came from members of Maleah’s family, Chief Art Acevedo and from other donors.
But because collecting reward money is not something the police department normally does, they have no rules in place on who can get it, and they say it’s still too early to say where the money is going.
If given any reward money, Quanell X says he will be donating it to charity.