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Police have confirmed there are two individuals they are considering people of interest in connection with the death of a 12 year-old girl.
Police have confirmed Jocelyn Nungaray was found dead after sneaking out of her family home in Houston, Texas on Sunday (June 15).
The 12-year-old's body was found in a shallow creek below a bridge on West Rankin Road near I-45, with the cause of death being determined as strangulation by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
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Authorities have also released CCTV footage of the last time Jocelyn was seen before her death.
In the clip, she is seen walking into a 7-Eleven in Houston on Sunday with two men described by police as 'persons of interest.'
They were seen wearing baseball-style caps, according to investigators, who are now calling for information from the public about the two individuals.
The Houston Police Department wrote on X: 'UPDATE: Our homicide detectives want to speak with these two male persons of interest regarding the death of a 12-year-old female at 400 West Rankin Rd."
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This comes after Mayor John Whitmire also revealed details about Jocelyn’s final phone call to her boyfriend, 13, before her death.
Whitmire told a press conference that her mom last saw her around 10pm Sunday when she put everyone to bed, meaning that Jocelyn possibly snuck out between 10pm and 12am.
He said: "It appears that he [her boyfriend] last talked to her at a convenience store around midnight, heard her talking to two grown-ups.
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"There will be a report issued shortly with very, very bad, horrific circumstances."
Jocelyn’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, spoke about the difficulty in telling her little brother that 'his older sister is never coming home'.
Speaking to local media, she said: "She was so young. She was 12, you took my baby away, you took her away."
She also said that she didn't know why her daughter left their home, adding: "I always told her, 'Never leave the house, never leave unattended, always be safe. There’s people around here that are crazy.'
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"I just hope, I hope they are found because Jocelyn was a fighter. She fought hard. She needs justice.
"She didn’t deserve this and she needs to be rested at peace."
The family have also set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs.
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People who may have any information about the two men are encouraged to call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 713-222-TIPS.
There is also a $5,000 reward for any information about the case.
UNILAD has contacted the Houston Police Department for further comment.
Gerrard Kaonga