Doorbell camera records missing Texas mom on night she disappeared

‘We’re all frustrated. We’re all in disbelief because this is not like her. This is not her routine’ sister-in-law of missing mother says

A Texas mother who has been missing for more than a week was recorded by a doorbell camera on the night she disappeared.

Erica Hernandez, of Houston, was last seen in the early hours of 18 April in the southwest part of the city as she was leaving a friend’s house.

Eldia Hernandez, sister-in-law of the missing woman, said Erica came to her house on the evening of 17 April at around 8.10pm. Erica Hernandez dropped off some food while her children waited in her car, a black 2020 GMC Acadia with Texas plates, according to officials.

Eldia Hernandez told KPRC: “She left her car on because her kids were in the car. Erica sat and talked to me for about five minutes and then left.”

Ms Hernandez then drove her children, aged three, 15, and 19, home before she later departed for a friend’s house. She left the friend’s home at around 2.30am local time. Her family says she hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Doorbell footage from the home of Eldia Hernandez shows Erica Hernandez leave the house and get back into her car.

“We called the hospitals, we asked for her name and asked for Jane Doe’s,” the sister-in-law told Houston TV station KTRK.

“We’re all frustrated. We’re all in disbelief because this is not like her. This is not her routine. Her kids are her world, and she would never ever leave her kids,” she added.

Describing Ms Hernandez the last time she saw her, Eldia Hernandez said: “She was fine. I mean, she was happy. She was a little tired, but that was about it.”

The Houston Police Department, Texas EquuSearch, and numerous volunteers have been looking for Ms Hernandez in the area she was last seen and along routes that she could have taken.

“We don’t know what happened. We’re at a loss for words,” Eldia Hernandez told KTRK.

The missing mother of three is described as a 5’3 Hispanic woman weighing around 200 pounds. She wears glasses and has dark brown hair with highlights down to her waist. She also has a nose piercing and a tattoo of three koala bears on her left shoulder blade, according to a flyer from Texas EquuSearch. Her car has an “Aggie Mom” bumper sticker on the back.

Albert Flores of the Texas United Coalition donated a $1,000 reward for any information that could lead to finding Ms Hernandez or her car.

He told KTRK: “Prayers for the family and people that are willing to help and resources that are made available, especially to Texas Equusearch, they do a lot. I think combined and us unifying together will give us a better chance.”

Houston police say that foul play has not been ruled out. They added that their Missing Person Unit is working on the case.

A GoFundMe has been set up to fund the search and has raised more than $3,500 of its $5,000 goal.

The director of Texas EquuSearch, Tim Miller, told KPRC: “We have eliminated a lot of areas, we covered a lot of miles.”

He added that “nothing in the investigation as of yet is certain,” and that all of the leads and tips “have been dead ends”.

Anyone with information on Ms Hernandez’s disappearance or whereabouts is asked to contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-1840, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 512-424-5074 or Texas EquuSearch at 281-309-9500.