A search is underway for a 23-year-old Texas woman who is 8 months pregnant and was last seen leaving her Houston home a few days ago.
Ashanti Allen has been missing since Friday, April 10, according to Texas EquuSearch, a search and recovery non-profit organization that helps law enforcement find missing persons using horses, sonar and radar technology, boats, drones and more.
The organization has offered a $5,000 reward for information resulting in “the rescue or recovery of Ashanti” and her “unborn baby,” according to a Monday, April 10, Facebook post.
“Ashanti’s safety is highly concerning due to being 8 months pregnant and experiencing a high-risk pregnancy,” the organization said.
Her disappearance is also being investigated by the Houston Police Department, according to the non-profit.
Allen’s mother, Trisa Gaines Colbert, told KPRC 2, that she received a text from Allen’s phone the day Allen was last seen that said, “I’m leaving and never coming back.”
The TV station published screenshots of Colbert and Allen’s text message exchange. The screenshots show Allen sent the text at 3:50 a.m. on April 10.
“That was suspicious to me, so when I saw that, I instantly went up to her apartment, knocked, and no one was there,” Colbert told KPRC 2. “I looked in the garage, and the vehicle was also missing.”
She said her daughter was using a wheelchair in relation to her pregnancy after experiencing incidents of fainting.
“She was barely getting around,” Colbert said while speaking to the TV station.
Allen’s family members told KHOU that they visited her apartment and discovered her belongings were still there, as well as a hospital bag she had packed for herself and clothes for her baby.
Authorities confirmed to the TV station that Allen was in her mother’s white Lincoln SUV before she disappeared.
The founder of Texas EquuSearch, Tim Miller, said while speaking with the TV station that there is “No evidence of foul play and no evidence [Allen] left on her own.”
Miller told the TV station that he hopes “we can get her back alive.”
Texas EquuSearch advises anyone with information on Allen’s location or disappearance to call the Houston Police Department at (832) 394-1840 or the nonprofit organization at (281) 309-9500.
“Baby, we’re all looking for you. We want you back and safe,” Colbert said, according to KPRC 2. “This is your first baby coming. My grandson. We just want you to be back.”
