New details surrounding the details of a missing Texas mother could potentially shine light on her disappearance.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 21-year-old Deuandrea Ford was last seen September 21 at her Divas Bikini Bar N Grill job in east Houston. Ford’s grandmother, Bridgette Carriere, said Ford always checks in and wouldn’t voluntarily leave without talking to her son, 4.
Court documents state that on May 10, Ford and 21-year-old Quitiana Taylor went to Baton Rouge to “work as dancers and prostitutes” for clients provided by a man identified as Otis Parker. On May 18, Parker drove the women back from Louisiana with cash they earned.
According to police, Taylor devised a plan to rob Parker as he drove the women back from Louisiana. When they arrived at the Villa Americana Apartments on Selinsky Road, Parker was fatally shot in the vehicle.
Court documents list Ford as the front seat passenger at the time.
The filings identify Jamal Brown, 22, as the shooter, with Jarrell Wheeler named as an accomplice alongside Taylor and Mariah Green, 20. All four were implicated in the robbery plot.
One month after the shooting, Brown was killed in a shootout with police. Wheeler, Taylor and Green remain jailed.
The connection between the May shooting and Ford’s disappearance, however, is still unclear.
“To our knowledge, no one has spoken with her, so we all began the tedious process of trying to get in contact with her. No one has had any success. Her phone is going directly to voicemail,” Ford’s uncle, Kevin Carriere, told Click2Houston.
“We were able to retrieve surveillance video of her leaving in a white van with someone, an individual we don’t know.”
Police are currently reviewing the security footage and asking the public for any tips that could lead to Ford’s whereabouts.
“If someone is holding her against her will, please know that law enforcement is on your trail,” Kevin Carriere added. “I have a gut feeling that something is not right.”
Anyone with information on Ford’s whereabouts is urged to contact Houston police.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Deuandrea Ford/Houston police]
