NEW BRAUNFELS – More than eight years after an 18-month-old vanished from a New Braunfels home, officials from the city are sharing 911 audio from the evening he was reported missing.
The whereabouts of Joshua Davis remain unknown, but “The Vanished," a true crime podcast with a large following, is hoping to revive interest and attention to Joshua's case. The 911 audio debuted on the podcast Sunday.
Many questions surround Joshua's disappearance from the family's mobile home Feb. 4, 2011.
18-month-old Joshua Davis #disappeared from his home in New Braunfels, #Texas on usually cold night back in February 2011. A massive search ensued but not trace of baby Joshua has ever been found. @MissingKids #MissingPersons #truecrimepodcast #truecrime https://t.co/RbAeMwGDAY
— The Vanished Podcast (@thevanishedpod) May 13, 2019
New Braunfels said what they've been saying since Joshua first disappeared: “We are still looking for answers and believe that they key information needed to solve the case lies with those that were in the home at the time Joshua went missing."
According to New Braunfels authorities, time was spent disposing of drugs in the house prior to calling 911 to report Joshua as missing.
Joshua's mother, Sabrina Benitez, told KSAT in 2016 that while there was marijuana in the house, the disposal process took only 10 minutes as family looked for Joshua outside.
"I've told them everything that I know," Benitez told KSAT in 2016. "I've been truthful with them."
On Monday, after the release of the 911 audio, Joshua’s maternal grandmother, Natalie Vargas, sent KSAT a statement Monday expressing her discontent with the New Braunfels Police Department's handling of the investigation.
“We as a family do what we can to bring Joshua’s face and story to the forefront. We hold on to hope because we love him and want him home," Vargas said. "We will not give up in doing so. The case may still be open but we don’t believe its actively being worked. Until there is evidence we cannot deny, speculation is just that. NBPD will need to prove to me how they know so matter-of-factly what happened to Joshua. The only thing we agree on, is that he did not leave the house on his own.”
When KSAT spoke with Benitez earlier this year, she expressed concerns that investigators' focus was too narrow.
“They've already made up their minds that they know what happened and that my grandson is deceased, that there was an accident in the house or that somebody was responsible. Basically, what they've said is, 'You all need to tell us something,'” Vargas said.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a new photo of what Davis may look like now.
Anyone with information in Joshua's disappearance should call New Braunfels police directly at 830-221-4100, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 830-620-TIPS.
