Shots Fired At Vigil For Missing Detroit Girl
DETROIT (WWJ) - The family and friends of a missing 5-year-old Detroit girl continue their anxious wait to see if the burned body of a child found in a home in their neighborhood is that of Mariha Smith. Adding to the tension, shots rang out at a Tuesday night vigil for the girl.
Police say no one was injured at the vigil, where family and friends had gathered to pray for the safe return of Mariha. She was last seen early Sunday morning at her Aunts house on Burlingame where she lived with her mother.
Konesha Smith, Mariha's mother, said she cannot remember anything about the disappearance of her daughter because she was drunk and passed out on a couch after a party at the home Saturday night.
According to a police source, a polygraph test indicated Smith was being truthful. However, another family member did not pass the polygraph and currently remains in police custody. Konesha told the Detroit News her sister, Virginia Smith, failed the test.
Another great-aunt of Mariha, Luquious Wooten, has a plea.
"God, please, whoever's got Mariha please bring her home. We all miss her and everything. Just let her come home, you know. Hey, sweet little girl with a smile on her face and everything, you know, kept laughing, joking and everything. Please let her come home, please."
Mariha's grandmother, Diane Henry, said she and her family will continue to pray until Mariha is home.
"Well, they holdin' up pretty good, but you can't break, you know what I'm saying. You gotta be strong , gotta be strong, so that's what I've been doin' and the mama been strong, so we're trying to hang in there."
Konesha has agreed to a DNA test to determine if a burnt body found in a vacant house near their home is that of her daughter.
An Amber Alert for Mariha remains active. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Detroit police at 313-596-5900.
