Persons of Interest Wanted in Death of Girl Found in Creek

HOUSTON — New surveillance photos obtained by KHOU 11 News show a 12-year-old girl hours before she was found dead in a creek north of Houston.

The new photos show Jocelyn Nungaray with a man previously identified by police as a person of interest wanted for questioning in her death. In one photo, they enter a convenience store. In the other, they are in a parking lot.

Tuesday evening, Houston police released separate surveillance photos of the same man and a second man.. HPD described the persons of interest as “two males of unknown age, wearing baseball-style caps.”

Earlier, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Jocelyn was at a convenience store when she spoke on the phone with her 13-year-old boyfriend after sneaking out of her family’s apartment Sunday night. The boyfriend told police he heard Jocelyn talking with two adults.

Hours later, Jocelyn was found in shallow water under a bridge on West Rankin Road near I-45. She had been strangled, and Whitmire said she had also been raped.

If you recognize either man or have further information about this case, you are asked to call Houston police at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 713-222-TIPS. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Jocelyn’s killer(s).

Also on Wednesday, we spoke with Jocelyn’s devastated mother.

Alexis Nungaray described her daughter as brave, clumsy and loving.

“I’m angry because they took advantage of her. She was so young. She was 12, you took my baby, you took her,” Alexis told us. “Now I can let her little brother know that her older sister is never coming home.”

Alexis said she was a teen mom when she had Jocelyn and was excited to see what the future held for her daughter.

“She has grown into a very beautiful young woman,” Alexis said. “I was really looking forward to seeing what it was going to be like and they took every opportunity for me and my family.”

She doesn’t know why Jocelyn sneaked out of their apartment Sunday night.

“I always told him, ‘Never leave the house, never leave unsupervised, always be safe. There are crazy people around here,” Alexis said. “I just hope, I hope they are found because Jocelyn was a fighter. She fought hard. She needs justice. She doesn’t doesn’t deserve this and she needs to rest in peace.

Jocelyn’s uncle told us that she was always smiling and loved her family very much.

“Jocy was an intelligent, loving and caring young woman. She brightened the room every time she passed and was loved by everyone,” Joamel Guevara said. “She had no reason to die the way she did.”

The family prays that his killers will be caught and punished.

“My sister, my nephew and my family deserve justice,” Guevara told us. “We will not sleep until justice is served and these predators are incarcerated in the Harris County Jail. In God’s name we pray!”

A GoFundMe.com account has been set up in the name of Jocelyn’s family to help pay for funeral expenses.