Foul Play Suspected In Woman's Disappearance

Amber Elkins Last Seen Sunday; Vehicle Found Abandoned Tuesday

HOUSTON – A family is searching for a woman who has been missing for several days.

Harris County sheriff's deputies said Amber Chantel Elkins, 20, was last seen Sunday evening.

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Detectives said Elkins' vehicle, a dark green 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer with Georgia license plates, was found abandoned in a vacant business parking lot in the 13900 block of Homestead Road, just north of Greens Bayou, about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.

The front passenger window was broken out and a substantial amount of blood was found inside the vehicle, investigators said.

The owner of Tommy's Car Care, the business next door, discovered the SUV with his brother and called 911.

"We walked over together and looked in, that's when we saw the blood and it looked like, you know, commotion had taken place in there," said Tommy Johnson. "Her purse and stuff like that was thrown all over the place, blood was on the seat, on the console, the shifter, on the sides of the driver seat."

Elkins' mom, Shani Kilpatrick, said her daughter would never go a day without letting someone know where she was. Kilpatrick said her phone rang at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, but she missed the call because she was sleeping. When she woke up later that morning, she realized it was her daughter, so she called her back.

"I called her back and a guy answered, I asked where Amber was and he hung up." said Kilpatrick. "She would only call me at 3:30 in the morning if something was wrong. That's why I know something was wrong."

Kilpatrick also said Elkins was due in court on Monday for a custody hearing regarding her 9-month-old daughter, who is staying with relatives.

Homicide detectives said they believe foul play may be involved in Elkins' disappearance.

Texas EquuSearch Founder Tim Miller said volunteers will start searching for Elkins on Friday.

"We're not going to sugarcoat anything. This looks bad," Miller said. "We're going to hold on to that tiny miracle, but the reality is we've got a big problem here. We got a 20-year-old that's got to be found."

Elkins is white, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes. She has two stars tattooed on her wrist and the word "ACE" tattooed on an ankle.

Anyone with information regarding Elkins' disappearance is asked to call the HCSO Homicide Unit at 713-967-5810 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.