Family still searching for Austin man last seen in 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - Eleven years have passed since then-36-year-old Adrian Washington disappeared.
Despite police talking to numerous people who knew him and going to the places where he was last seen, he and his car were never found. Police say he is associated with a blue 2001 Ford Expedition.
May 26, 2012, was the last time he was heard from.
"I miss his smile, and he joked a lot," Ionna Washington, Adrian's mother, said.
Every February 26, his family celebrates his birthday. "I think about him every day. Day, night, evening, I think about him all the time," Ionna said.
READ MORE: Family pleads for answers 10 years after Austin father disappears
Adrian's sister LaTeasha Washington recalls the last time she spoke to him, calling him about her car.
"When he answered the phone, he addressed me by my name, and he never does that. He always calls me sis," she said.
She says it seemed like he was with someone.
"He was like, 'okay, okay. I'm out of town right now. I'll take care of it when I get back.' So it was like a rush conversation, which is kind of weird to me. And I was just like, 'okay, well, I'll talk to him when he gets back,'" LaTeasha said.
However, he didn't come back and never answered his phone again.
"I got in the car with Robert, his dad, and I just started screaming. I just said, 'there's something wrong, he's gone, he's gone.' And Robert said, 'what do you mean?' I don't know. It's just something I felt," Ionna said.
Seven years ago, police retraced Adrian's steps. Cadaver dogs searched a field but came up empty. The first place he went was the Planet Fitness off Anderson Lane, then to Fine Dry Cleaners on Grand Avenue Parkway.
Cell phone records then show two possible locations: a field off of Dove Hill in Caldwell County, just south of Austin and a property off of Bark Lane and 9610 with his cousin, who police named a person of interest in 2016.
"He maintained contact with Adrian for four weeks ahead of time, and then as soon as Adrian goes missing, never calls him again. Never sends him another text message. Won't return phone calls concerning Adrian. So that's pretty interesting," police said at the time.
Family members say that cousin is also avoiding them.
"I wish he would tell me what happened, because we all used to talk. Now, all of a sudden, now we don't talk. That makes me feel that he knows something," Ionna said.
MORE MISSING IN TEXAS
- Possible victim of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas identified in 1979 Texas cold case
- Missing in Texas: Clue in cold case murder mysteriously turns up decades later
- Missing in Texas: TXST Forensic Anthropology Center works to identify human remains
- Nonprofit helping identify unidentified human remains
"I feel like everybody is just gone on with their life, and nobody cares. And we're just stuck trying to pick up the pieces. It's just like my parents said you know, a street thing. It's a snitch thing. So nobody wants to talk," LaTeasha said.
Adrian's two daughters grew up without a father, and he has a grandchild he's never met.
As each year goes by, Ionna says it gets more difficult. "It's really frustrating to me, because you'd think that it get easy. But to me, it's harder every day," she said.
"I just don't understand why. Why did you do that? That's the only thing I had, that was my sibling, my only sibling. I don't understand. Why would you do that?" LaTeasha said.
Adrian's family says they're not giving up hope that someday they'll have answers.
"You have to keep the faith going, because one day it's going to happen. Whoever's out there, I hope they're listening. You're going to get a knock on your door," Adrian's father Robert Washington said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS (8477) or through the Crime Stoppers App. You can also contact APD by email.