Update: Missing Haskell girl, 9, last seen in homeless camp in Nevada

Laura Gutschke | Abilene

Show Caption Hide Caption What to Do When Someone Goes Missing Tips on what to do when someone you care about goes missing. Video by Jordan Fenster/lohud

HASKELL — Police said a 9-year-old girl not returned by her biological mother to the child's custodial stepmother following summer visitation was last seen in a homeless camp and shelter in Nevada.

Urijah Livingston, 9, was not returned by her biological mother, Desiree Ward of Trinidad, Colorado, to her stepmother, Shannon Livingston, on July 22 as scheduled after a summer visitation that began June 20, said Haskell Police Chief Kenny Barnett.

"I got a phone call from Urijah on the 21st that they weren't going to make it," said Shannon Livingston, who lives in Weinert, about 11 miles north of Haskell.

Urijah also said on that call that she was in Reno, Nevada, Livingston said.

The next call from Urijah came seven days later on Saturday on a cellphone she borrowed from a woman at a homeless camp by a river in Sparks, just east of Reno, Livingston said.

“She seemed OK. She didn’t seem scared but she knew that what her mom was doing was wrong and that she wanted to come home. If her mom found out she was talking to me her mom would hide her,” Livingston said.

The child also told her stepmother that she was hungry and had not bathed in a week, Barnett said.

Haskell police contacted the Sparks Police Department, which sent several officers to check homeless shelters and camps. By pinging the number of the borrowed cellphone, police were able to locate its owner, a woman at a homeless camp who loaned it to Urijah, Barnett said.

“The woman told the Sparks police department that on Tuesday Desiree got out of her truck at a convenience store and took Urijah with her and took off,” Livingston said.

Several Sparks police officers familiar with the homeless camps and shelters have swarmed the area looking for Ward and Urijah, Barnett said.

Ward and Urijah traveled from Ward's home in Colorado to Las Vegas with one of Ward's older sons and his girlfriend, Livingston said. Ward and Urijah then later took a bus to Reno, Livingston said. The stepmother has not been able to reach Ward's son again, she said.

Because Ward does not have a vehicle, the two may be hitchhiking, Barnett said.

“It’s a horrible deal,” he said.

Police do not know where Ward is headed, Barnett said.

Livingston was married to Urijah's biological father, Heath Livingston, for about 3½ years before he died on Dec. 7, 2016. Shannon Livingston was granted custodial rights in May 2017.

Urijah will be a fourth grader at Rule Independent School District, where Livingston teaches high school English. Rule is 11 miles west of Haskell.

An Amber Alert was not issued for Urijah because it did not meet the state's guidelines, Barnett said. The Texas Joint Crime Information Center of the Texas Department of Public Safety gathered details and photographs about Ward and Urijah for a flyer that went to law enforcement agencies from Texas to California and Colorado, the police chief added.

Livingston and Urijah met Ward in Amarillo on June 20 for the 9-year-old's summer visitation to begin. The three were to meet again in Amarillo on July 22 for Urijah to return to her home in Weinert, Livingston said.

Livingston said she called her lawyer on July 23, who advised her to contact a lawyer and police in Reno for assistance.

“The law firms told me that without having a physical address there was nothing they could do because they could not serve her with papers," Livingston said. "The sheriff’s department told me that they did not get involved in custody disputes.”

Urijah's call from a homeless camp sparked law enforcement's involvement.

"We’re just trying to flood the internet with this and hopefully put enough pressure on the mom that she’ll turn the kid over or drop her off at a hospital or police department or church,” Barnett said.

Throughout this ordeal, Livingston said she has relied on the support of her extended family in the Haskell area and her faith.

She has remained positive by "just knowing that God's in control and knowing that he's got his hands on her," Livingston said.

If Ward or Urijah is seen, contact local authorities, or the Haskell Police Department at 940-682-0911.