Melissa Sowders: Texas Police Believe Missing Pregnant Mom Was Murdered

Melissa Sowders: Texas Police Believe Missing Pregnant Mom Was Murdered
(Harris County Sheriff's Office)
Zachary Stieber
1/1/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

Melissa Sowders, a missing pregnant mom in Harris County, Texas, is believed to be a victim of foul play. A search of more than 300 square miles over the weekend turned up no clues about what could have happened to her.

Sowders, 26, has four children and is pregnant with another.

UPDATE: A dead body has been found in the search for Sowders

Detectives have been investigating the situation since her disappearance around noon on December 26.

The search resumed on Tuesday, with volunteers and sheriff officials scouring Cypress Creek. Divers began searching the creek on December 31, reported KTRK.

Sonar equipment was also being used.

Sowders was last seen by her boyfriend Jason Sanford, reported KHOU. She dropped him off for work at 6:15 a.m. Sowders planned to meet her ex-husband and their youngest daughter at a McDonald’s on FM 1960 near Kuykendahl Road, but didn’t show.

Her white Honda Accord was found abandoned on Interstate 45 last Friday.

Family members said they suspect the ex-husband may have been involved, because he was allegedly abusive to her in the past.

Detectives said they have questioned him but have not named him as a suspect.

 MORE:

Dead Body Found in Search for Missing Pregnant Mom