Tiera Strand death: Person of interest possibly current or former military, investigators say
New video released in Tiera Strand case
It's been three years since Tiera Strand disappeared during a night out on 6th Street and her body was found 75 miles away in Bell County. Now law enforcement is releasing video of a person of interest.
BELL COUNTY, Texas - It's been three years since Tiera Strand disappeared during a night out on 6th Street.
Days later, her body was found on the side of the road in Bell County, 75 miles away from where she was last seen alive.
Now, Bell County law enforcement is releasing video of a person of interest in the case.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Tiera Strand's cause of death is undetermined: autopsy
What they're saying:
The sheriff's office held a press conference on the third anniversary of Strand's disappearance.
They released video from the night Strand disappeared, including video of the last time Strand was seen alive. Video came from Austin police body cameras and HALO cameras on 6th Street.
Watch the full press conference below:
FULL: Tiera Strand case update, three years later
It's been three years since Tiera Strand went missing on 6th Street in downtown Austin and her body was found 75 miles away near Temple. Now Bell County law enforcement is releasing video of a person of interest in the case and asking for the public's help.
Sgt. Corey Powell with the Bell County Sheriff's Office said they believe the person of interest is connected to the military, either a current or former service member, based on certain actions and descriptors seen in the videos.
"I’m sorry, I don't believe anybody deserves to be left like that and this person of interest is the last person that we know was with Tiera Strand," said Powell. "So it's very important that we find information out for this person."
The sheriff's office says they do have a DNA profile related to the case.
"We have been working through several different agencies trying to help us to get this gentleman identified and all those things to this point have failed," said Powell.
"We’re hoping that this video would spark finding those two individuals and maybe they would have some information on him because they have direct contact with him," said Powell.
The sheriff's office says they have received assistance on the case from the Texas Rangers, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Austin Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Army-Criminal Investigations Division, the United States Navy Criminal Investigations Services, and the United States Department of Justice-Regional Organized Crime Information Center.
Watch a compilation of the videos released by the sheriff's office below:
Tiera Strand case: Videos of person of interest
This is a compilation of videos showing a person of interest in the disappearance and death of Tiera Strand. He was seen with her in the last video of Strand alive that has been recovered by law enforcement (Courtesy: Bell County Sheriff's Office)
The investigation so far
The investigation so far has determined that Tiera was separated from her friends just before 2 a.m. and that video footage shows her looking for them in the 6th Street area.
At around 2:19 a.m., the person of interest, an unidentified man, was seen walking with her. Several clips show the two walking back and forth on 6th Street until around 2:41 a.m. April 16, 2023 when they were seen entering the parking lot of the Wendy's at 7th St and I-35.
That was the last time Tiera was seen on video that has been recovered by law enforcement, says the sheriff's office.
Investigators also found video of the man going as far back as 1:30 a.m. that day approaching two groups of women. During the first interaction, video shows him putting information into a woman's phone at the corner of 6th and Trinity.
A still image from an Austin police HALO camera showing a person of interest in the Tiera Strand case using a woman's phone at 6th and Trinity. (Bell County Sheriff's Office)
The second interaction was on Trinity between 6th and 7th and video showed a woman lunging at him and then being pulled back by a member of her group.
The man was also seen on various body-worn cameras along 6th Street between Trinity and San Jacinto.
The person of interest's description
Investigators say that based on the video, the man appears to have a short haircut, earrings in both ears and military-style wraparound sunglasses. He was also muscular in appearance and was seen on video chain-smoking while walking with Tiera.
He also at one point appeared to make a turn resembling a military-style movement.
"He’s wearing glasses that appear to be those that are issued to United States military members. He actually does what's called a facing movement when he's walking toward the officer and he actually does that pivot in his arms and makes the turn that is military," said Powell.
Investigators also noted that in the videos he seems reluctant to be in close contact with law enforcement and had turned his head away several times from approaching officers during their normal patrol duties.
What you can do:
Tips can be submitted multiple ways:
- Calling and leaving a voicemail on the tip line at 254-933-5539
- Emailing sheriff.tips@bellcounty.texas.gov
- Contacting Bell County Crime Stoppers
What happened to Tiera Strand?
The backstory:
25-year-old Tiera Strand was last seen around 2:30 a.m. April 16, 2023 at Mooseknuckle Pub on 6th Street.
Her family told FOX 7 Austin in 2023 that Strand had been involved in an altercation with some other patrons.
"Some girls in the club jumped her, started beating her up inside the club. They kicked her out, and the fight went outside," her mother, Monica Herron, said.
Family looking for 25-year-old woman last seen on Sixth Street
Tiera Strand's family says she was last seen at Mooseknuckle Pub on Sunday, April 16 in the early morning hours.
Tiera's family says cell phone video recorded by a witness shows the tail end of the fight and that the girls Tiera went out with didn't help her.
"They said she was angry with them, and they said she stormed off with no phone, no purse, no bank card, no money, keys to her car, everything just gone. They have it, and she just stormed off," Herron said. "I don't want to assume anything because I don't have any proof, but all I know is what they did to her, so I don't know if there was anything they did after that."
Family of Austin woman found dead in Bell County speaks out
The family of Tiera Strand, the 25-year-old found dead in Bell County, is speaking out. Strand was first reported missing a week and a half ago after a night out on Sixth Street in Austin. Her body was found five days later.
Herron says the friends called her that Sunday to meet up.
"When they first told me what happened, I really didn't understand it, it wasn't until I met them, and they gave me all of her items, and that's when it set in that something was wrong, because it didn't make sense for you to be here, but she's not, and you have all of her personal belongings," she said. "It's not like her to leave her bank card that she works so hard for."
Days later, on April 21, 2023, Strand's body was found on Lower Troy Road, between Temple and Waco, around 75 miles away from downtown Austin.
Her family told FOX 7 Austin that Strand had no connection to Bell County.
Tiera Strand's cause of death is undetermined
Tiera Strand's body was found five days after she was last seen alive and around 75 miles away.
In July 2023, officials ruled her cause of death as "undetermined."
Paperwork obtained by FOX 7 Austin at the time said there was no "significant trauma" or "significant natural disease" noted at autopsy, and no evidence of trauma to the hyoid bone.
A toxicology report showed the presence of ethanol, but no drugs.
The Source: Information in this report comes from the Bell County Sheriff's Office and previous reporting.