Right 4: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 10 years; 16 years; 19 years; 27 years
Right 4: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 10 years; 16 years; 19 years; 27 years
Name: Deangelo Marquis McNeil
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: April 17, 1997
Location Last Seen: Houston, Harris County, Texas
Date of Birth: June 1, 1994
Age: 2 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Height: 3'0"
Weight: 28 lbs.
Hair Color: Black, curly
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Deangelo McNeil was last seen at his home in Houston, TX, on April 17, 1997. He had been in the custody of the state Department of Protective and Regulatory Services since January of 1995 when he was 7 months old, and his mother, Patricia McNeil, was sent to prison on a theft conviction. Deangelo and his brother were returned to McNeil by December of 1996 but remained in the state's legal custody.
Investigators became suspicious in March of 1997 when they noticed a fading bruise under Deangelo's right eye. McNeil told the investigators that he had fallen, and investigators began calling his daycare center for more information. Some time in mid-April of 1997, McNeil removed Deangelo from daycare, and when CPS went to McNeil's home to get him in April of 1997, he was gone. He has been missing ever since. He may be in the company of an adult male.
McNeil told an investigator that she had allowed Deangelo to stay with Manuel Ferreira, who she said was his father. However, she couldn't give an address nor a telephone number for him, instead relying on a pager number. McNeil said Deangelo had been taken by his father who had jumped a $100,000.00 bond on a cocaine charge and fled to the Dominican Republic. Investigators tracked the pager number and said it belonged to someone unrelated to the case. Investigators contacted Ferriera and Ferriera acknowledged knowing McNeil, but denied being Deangelo's father or knowing his whereabouts. State investigators also talked with relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances of McNeil and Ferreira, leading them to question McNeil's story.
The mother was charged with injury to a child and interfering with child custody. She was sentenced to 75 years in prison for injuring Deangelo. Deangelo's older brother testified that he saw his mother beat Deangelo with a belt, which was the basis for the injury-to-a-child charge. Prosecutors have said they think McNeil might have killed her son, something she denies.
Agency Name: Harris County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Investigator Bonnie Ewerling
Agency Phone Number: 713-221-6000
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 9705130534
NamUs Case Number: 6385
NCIC Case Number: M-025426098
NCMEC Case Number: 832954
NamUs
NCMEC
TX DPS
The Houston Chronicle - Jun. 4, 1998
Added: 03/12/2006; Last Updated: 02/06/2024 - By: kc
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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