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Activists look to file lawsuit in case of missing Tanvi Marupally

It's been about 10 weeks since Tanvi Marupally was last seen— and one activist explained that the Conway Police Department could soon be facing a lawsuit.

CONWAY, Ark. — January 17, 2023, was the last day that then-14-year-old Tanvi Marupally was seen, as she left Conway Junior High. 

The community has worked together in hopes of finding her, and the search has gained national attention.

“Have you heard about Tanvi? And I said, no. I said who is that? And they told me about this child that was missing,” said Activist Derek Van Voast.

Van Voast is an Arkansan who travels across the country advocating for different people— and currently, it’s the Marupally family.

“I set up a meeting with the mayor, the police chief, and several other people and we had a meeting, about a three-hour meeting,” said Van Voast. “And I thought, what I was gonna get out of that meeting was enough to tell the families hey, they're doing their part.”

Van Voast explained how that wasn't the case, and instead there have been more questions than answers as time has gone on.

“The fact that we're here 70 days later, whatever, and we still don't have an amber alert I mean, I learned from my understanding the state police just heard about it three weeks ago,” said Van Voast. “There's got to be something I’m missing.”

He has been in contact with the family and said that the past ten weeks haven’t been easy for them.

"This child needs help. This family needs answers,” Van Voast explained.

Van Voast and other activists said they plan to take action.

“Good enough grounds for a lawsuit against the police department, just how they handled it from the very beginning,” said Van Voast.

He also said that the family is looking for transparency as they continue their search too. 

“Whether their daughter comes home or not they would like the way it was handled on the front end to be fixed. So, it doesn't happen to any other children,” said Van Voast.

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