Duson police search shelter
The Duson Police Department searched a state-licensed shelter in Lafayette on Monday in its continuing investigation into the disappearance of 15-year-old Keiosha Felix, who has been missing since April 30.
Police searched Maison De Mere at 520 St. John St., Police Chief Frank Andrew said. While Andrew declined to identify the purpose of the facility, he did say it was the girl’s legal residence when she disappeared.
The state Department of Children and Family Services states on its website that Maison de Mere is a home for teenage girls who are pregnant or parenting a child.
“We were looking for documents pertaining to Keiosha Felix,” Andrew said of why the facility was searched.
In an affidavit last week, Duson police Lt. Gerald Credeur wrote that Felix was in the state’s custody when she disappeared, a statement the state has declined to confirm.
Felix’s aunt, Lena Lewis, has said her niece was the mother of a nearly 1-year old baby. The state also has custody of the baby, Lewis said.
Felix disappeared while on a weekend pass to the home of Patricia Andrus, who is her aunt, police have said.
Andrus, her daughter, Portia Felix, and Andrus’ boyfriend, Leon Wilkerson Jr., have all been arrested in the girl’s disappearance.
Wilkerson was arrested on counts of simple rape and second-degree kidnapping. Andrus was arrested on counts of improper supervision of a minor and accessory after the fact to simple rape. Felix was arrested on one count of obstruction of justice.
When the investigation began, police considered Felix an endangered runaway, but that changed last week when the Duson Police Department said it learned some of the girl’s family members had lied about having had contact with her.
Duson police quickly switched their approach to the case and have since enlisted outside help, including state and federal agencies, Andrew said.
The chief said investigators still have no leads on the girl’s whereabouts.
“I know she’s out there and I know she’s all right,” Andrew said. “That’s a feeling, right.”
The chief also asked that a message be relayed to Felix should she be reading the newspaper or watching the news.
“Let her know that if she is found, nothing bad is going to happen to her,” Andrew said. “We’re going to take care of her.”
The Advocate normally does not identify victims of alleged sex crimes but is doing so in this case because police are asking the public for help in finding Felix.
For more information on Felix, visit the FindKeioshaFelixNow Facebook page.
Anyone with information about Felix’s whereabouts is asked to call the Duson Police Department at (337) 232-9211 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.