75-year-old woman with dementia goes missing after walking out of Harris County Jail, found dead a week later
HOUSTON - Relatives of Shirley Williams Houston say they have no idea how she got from the jail downtown to Deussen Park, which is more than 20 miles away.
Her body was found near the northeast side park on Wednesday night.
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"She was just happy, jolly person," said Shirley's niece, Lillie Ufomba. "When you see her, you would see her with a smile."
Houston police were called to Shirley's southeast side home on Wednesday, January 10.
"Shirley had dementia and heart problems too," said her sister, Arlene Herron.
Relatives say Shirley got into an argument with a woman staying with her. Shirley was arrested and charged with assault of a family member, a misdemeanor.
"Shirley has never been in trouble. She doesn't have a police record," Lillie said.
The next day, January 11t at around 7 a.m., Shirley walked out of the Harris County Jail on a personal recognizance bond.
Then Shirley went missing.
"We rode around downtown, then we went and rolled through her neighborhood," said Lillie.
On Wednesday night, Shirley's body was found near Deussen Park, which is more than 20 miles from the jail.
Relatives are left wondering how did she get there and did anyone with HPD or the jail know she had dementia.
"I know she wasn't in the right state of mind when she went to jail. They should have known that," said Arlene.
"I think someone should have told the police she had dementia," said Lillie. "I can't say they knew, I can't say they didn't know."
The Harris County Sheriffs Office tells FOX 26, they had no information Shirley suffered from dementia, so she was able to walk out of jail after posting bond, like everybody else.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says no mention was ever made by HPD of any dementia.
He says Shirley was taken to a hospital prior to being transferred to jail.
Her cause of death is pending an autopsy.