Local law enforcement officers are continuing their search for 24-year-old Jennifer Mendez Olascoaga following her disappearance two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, family members gathered outside Dallas Police Department headquarters to urge law enforcement to increase efforts to find their missing loved one.
Jennifer’s brother-in-law, who only provided the name Marco, told CBS News Texas that he and the rest of the family have been looking for her themselves for days.
“[W]e were just going everywhere … knocking on doors or on restaurants or anything that we could find that has cameras and just ask them to look at a certain time, see if they saw [anything],” said Marco.
He also said that since Jennifer’s disappearance, a friend of hers received disturbing text messages. An unidentified person texted the friend, asking them if they were missing anyone.
“There has [sic] been recent messages,” said Marco, per CBS News Texas. “Basically telling the friend that she’s next.”
Jennifer’s family members had originally filed a missing person’s report with DPD on September 28. However, the family was referred to the Seagoville Police Department after receiving word that the last reported sighting of her was in Seagoville, according to a press release. The family subsequently reported her disappearance to that department on October 1.
Family members told police they believe Jennifer’s vehicle, a white 2015 Buick La Crosse, was last seen on surveillance cameras on September 27 at about 8 p.m. in the Creekside Mobile Home Park located at 2510 U.S. Hwy 175, where Jeniffer was dropping off a friend of hers. The vehicle was found abandoned near I-20 and Lawson Road.
“Prior to, and during, reporting Jennifer as a missing person to the police, a family member received text messages forwarded from friend recipients regarding Jennifer. These messages have been forwarded to investigators and are being looked at further,” reads the press release. “These text messages contained content that would lead one to believe that Jennifer’s disappearance may involve foul play.”
Anyone with information on the disappearance is asked to contact DPD at 214-744-4444.
In Dallas, kidnappings have been on the rise this year, with DPD logging 141 reported incidents as of October 12, according to the City of Dallas crime overview dashboard. There were only 124 incidents reported in the same period last year.