Deundrea Ford, 21: Last Seen Leaving Work In Houston In 2023
For weeks, the loved ones of Deundrea Ford have been frantically pleading for help. On September 21, 2023, Deundrea was at the Divas Bikini Bar & Grill, where she was employed, located right off the East Fwy in Houston, Texas. The 21-year-old only worked at the bar for a few weeks, and now, her family believes she may have been abducted.
As a rule, and for their safety, the bar’s manager tells employees never to leave with a customer, especially men. However, surveillance cameras captured Deundrea leaving the establishment with an unknown man after Divas closed. She was seen getting into a van with him in the parking lot, where they were said to have been for approximately an hour. A friend of Deundrea’s told authorities that the young mother called them around 2:00 a.m., but they didn’t answer. When calls to Deundrea’s phone were made hours later, it was learned that it was powered off.
“I just hope that if anyone has her they release her and let her come home. We just want her home,” Deundrea’s grandmother, Bridgette Carriere, told KHOU. Her uncle, Kevin Carriere, added, “I’m confident that something’s not right. This is not her normal behavior.”
Deundrea Ford: Witness To A Murder
Further, an investigation uncovered explosive information that not even Deundrea Ford’s family was privy to. USA Today reported the young mother was named as a witness in a murder investigation involving her friend, 35-year-old Otis Parker. During the incident that occurred on May 18, 2023, Deundrea was riding in the passenger side of a vehicle driven by Otis. She was sleeping as they pulled into an apartment complex around 4:30 a.m. Things quickly escalated when the pair were accosted by gunshots in a botched robbery.
By June 2023, four people were named in a probable cause affidavit: Jamal Brown, 21; Mariah Green, 23; Jarrell Travon Wheeler, 22; and Quitiana Taylor, 21. Police named Brown as the shooter and stated they had information to suggest that the group later plotted to murder Deundrea Ford. In all, they made $1,500 in the theft, but Brown reportedly wrote to Taylor in a string of text messages, “She got to go too.” In return, Taylor replied he was already aware that Deundrea would be their next victim.
The Ongoing Investigation
All defendants in this case were reportedly given a no-contact court order to stay away from Deundrea. However, Brown was shot and killed by police when they served him with a murder warrant. The three other suspects remain incarcerated without bond. Investigators ask that anyone who may have information related to Otis Parker’s murder or Deundrea Ford’s disappearance to come forward.
At the time of her disappearance, Deundrea Ford stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. She has black/dark brown hair and brown eyes. Deundrea was last seen wearing a black tank top and tan pants.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Houston Police Department Missing Persons at (832) 394-1840, the Houston Police Department Patrol at (713) 884-3131, or their local authorities. The agency case number is 1365087-23.
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