Ashanti Allen's mom says she told her "I'm not coming back" before she vanished at eight months pregnant
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Ashanti-Allen-missing-041326-5c08f39d61bb44f5bd728e0393093bb0.jpg "Ashanti Allen missing")
Credit: Texas EquuSearch
NEED TO KNOW
- Texas EquuSearch announced that it is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the rescue or recovery of Ashanti Allen and her unborn child
- Allen was reported missing on April 10
- “All we just want you to come home,” Trisa Gaines, Allen’s mother, urged her daughter
Authorities in Texas are seeking information on the whereabouts of a missing 23-year-old woman who is eight months pregnant.
Texas EquuSearch, a non-profit volunteer search and recovery organization, announced on Monday, April 13, that it is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the rescue or recovery of Ashanti Allen and her unborn child.
“Ashanti's safety is highly concerning due to being 8 months pregnant and experiencing a high-risk pregnancy,” the group wrote. “It is unknown what clothing Ashanti was wearing at the time of her disappearance.”
Allen's mother Trisa Gaines told NBC affiliate KPRC that she last saw her daughter on Wednesday, April 8. The 23-year-old took her mother to a medical appointment, then returned to their shared apartment complex on Main Street near NRG Stadium.
Allen’s family told CBS affiliate KHOU that Allen’s disappearance is out of the ordinary given that she has experienced a complicated pregnancy and is due to give birth in May.
Gaines said that she received an unusual text message from her daughter on Friday, April 10, which was her last contact with Allen.
"On April 10 around 3:50 that morning, a text sent to me: 'I am leaving, not coming back,' " Gaines told KHOU. “I didn't believe that she sent that."
The mother also told KPRC that after receiving the chilling text, she went to Allen’s apartment and knocked on the door, but no one was there. According to KPRC, the mother and daughter live in separate apartments in the same building within the complex.
When she did gain access to the apartment, Gaines said Allen’s clothes and the baby’s were still there. "All her stuff was there, baby clothes there, nothing was taken. The bag she packed for the hospital still sitting there," she told KHOU.
She was alarmed to find that the family's vehicle, a white Lincoln SUV, was missing, too.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The experience has left Gaines devastated and hopeless, she told KPRC.
Gaines pleaded to her daughter, via KHOU: “If you are seeing this, all we want to know is you are okay."
Allen is described as 5’ 1” and 150 lbs., with brown hair and eyes. Gaines said Allen had been using a wheelchair to move around after she passed out while pregnant and had been struggling to walk.
Texas EquuSearch said in its bulletin that those with information should call them at 281-309-9500 or Houston Police Department at (832) 394-1840
PEOPLE contacted the Houston Police Department on Tuesday, April 14, but did not receive an immediate response.