Child's Body Found Close to Where Shaniya Davis Vanished

Nov. 16, 2009— -- The body of a child was found today buried close to the town where5-year-old Shaniya Davis disappeared last week.

Shaniya had been missing for nearly a week, and was last seen in a hotel surveillance video being carried by a man who has been charged with kidnapping in the case.

Her mother, Antoinette Davis, 25, appeared in court today on charges of human trafficking and child prostitution.

Fayetteville Police Department spokewoman Theresa Chance said the child's body was discovered in a wooded area off of Interstate 87 near Sanford, N.C.

Chance declined to say that body was that of Shaniya, saying only, "It seems to be a child."

"We have no positive identification yet," Chance told a news conference.

The body had not yet been removed from the shallow grave where it was discovered. Chance said the Fayetteville police were waiting for "the FBI to help exhume the body."

She said when that was done, police would consult family members to get a positive identification.

Police found the body through "information from a credible source and that is what led us to Walker Road," where the child's remains were buried amid a thick tangle of brush, downed branches and trees.

Authorities had been working around the clock trying to bring the little girl to safety, Chance said.

"This is very hard on the officers," she said. "They have their own small children. Everyone thinks 'What if this was my child?'"

"Everyone is very tired, very tired and worn out," she said.

Davis showed no emotion during her appearance in Fayetteville District Court today, ABC News affiliate WTVD reported.