HOUSTON – The search is intensifying for a missing Houston woman who is eight months pregnant, as volunteers and investigators expand efforts near the area where she was last seen.
23-year-old Ashanti Allen has now been missing for six days. Her family says they are growing increasingly concerned and desperate for answers.
Texas EquuSearch set up a command post Tuesday near Buffalo Speedway and Airport Boulevard, close to where Allen was last seen. The nonprofit search organization says it has significantly ramped up its efforts.
“We have done some banks of the bayous and the waterways and everything and you know we’ve mapped out many areas," said Miller.
Miller says crews have been searching since Sunday and are continuing to follow up on tips and leads, though none have led to Allen so far.
“Time’s not on our side,” Miller said. “We get more fearful that something has happened.”
Search teams spent Tuesday combing through wooded areas, brush, and nearby spaces, using drones and even ATVs.
Allen’s mother, Teresa Gaines Colbert, says the last time she saw her daughter was April 8, when Allen drove her to a medical appointment and returned home to their apartment building.
Just two days later, she received a text message from her daughter’s phone that immediately raised concern.
“About 3:50 a.m. on April the 10th, I received a strange text that says, ‘I’m leaving and not coming back,’” Colbert said.
Her family says that message does not match Allen’s personality or her current situation.
“She was happy she had her first apartment. She was happy that she was having a baby. She’s happy she got her new job,” a family member said. “So why would she all of a sudden at 3 o’clock in the morning say, ‘Oh, I’m leaving, not coming back?’ That’s random.”
Colbert says she immediately went to check on her daughter but did not find her at home.
As the search nears a week, both volunteers and family members say the urgency is increasing — especially given Allen’s pregnancy.
Miller says while there is no confirmed evidence of foul play, there is also no indication Allen left on her own.
“Every day that goes by, we get more fearful,” he said.
For Colbert, the emotional toll is overwhelming.
“I just feel helpless,” she said.
Texas EquuSearch crews wrapped up Tuesday’s search around 6 p.m. and plan to resume early Wednesday morning. Miller says the search could continue to expand as more information comes in.
Anyone with information about Ashanti Allen’s whereabouts is urged to contact Houston police.