HOUSTON — Family members of a young man who disappeared during a night out with friends in the Heights are desperate to know what happened that night.
The body of Delano Burkes was found in the Houston Ship Channel nearly two weeks after he vanished. A Houston Police Department dive team recovered the body after it was found by someone in a tug boat.
“Delano was a kind, sweet, generous person and somebody like that doesn’t just randomly end up in the Ship Channel," wife Autumn Burkes said Friday at a news conference with Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Delano's mother said they don't believe he ended up in the water by himself.
“We believe that something else happened, we believe that people know about it, someone knows about it," his mother Karen Jeffly said.
Delano's friends said he went into McIntyre's on West 20th Street to use the bathroom and didn't come out. They eventually left without him in his car. A video outside the bar showed Delano, who had reportedly been asked to leave, stumbling on the sidewalk around 1 a.m. on Nov. 13.
His mother said before McIntyre's Delano was at other bars and restaurants in the Heights the night of Nov. 12, including Moonshine Deck and Austin's Backyard. They're asking anyone who might have seen him or have video to come forward.
“We just need closure, we need answers, we need somebody to speak up,” Autumn said. “This could have been your husband, your brother, your sister, your son."
“Someone, somewhere knows something. And the smallest detail is helpful," Rania Mankarious with Crime Stoppers added.
Delano Burkes investigation
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner responded to the news conference on Twitter Friday evening after Rep. Lee also mentioned two other cases of young men found dead in local waterways recently.
"I want to offer condolences from everyone at HPD to the family of Delano Burkes and the families of the two other men recently found deceased in Houston waterways.
"The Houston Police Department's missing person and homicide detectives have worked countless hours conducting thorough investigations in all three incidents. While we are currently awaiting final autopsy results, we have found no signs of trauma or foul play. Additionally, the three cases are not believed to be related.
"We've been in frequent contact with Delano's family, updating them on the facts uncovered in our investigation and that all signs point to Delano's death being a tragic accident."
The medical examiner has not released a cause of death. The family said they were told the toxicology report could take months.
If you have any information, please call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submit tips online.