AUSTIN, Texas — A woman who disappeared in Downtown Austin was found dead days later in a ditch 70 miles away, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Department.
The family of Tiera Strand, 25, reported her missing to the Austin Police Department (APD) on April 17 after they say she went out to a bar on Sixth Street and they never heard from her again.
Deputies with the Bell County Sheriff's Department found Strand on April 21, near the 1300 block of Berger Rd, just north of Temple.
However, Strand's family told KVUE they have little to no answers about how she died.
"We have gotten no answers besides the fact that they saw her on camera one day and found the body the next [day]," said Strand's sister, Mariah Herron.
Herron, along with Strand's cousins – Tamara Yarbrough-Kelly and Chandra White – claim Strand was attacked by multiple people before she disappeared, and there is video proof.
They explained how when they didn't hear from Strand, they called her phone. The friends she went out with the night of her disappearance answered and said they had her belongings – something that the family insists is out of character for Strand.
"It just doesn't even sound like her. So, you're already questioning what's going on," Herron said.
KVUE reached out to APD on Friday and was only told that the department had received a request to find Strand but couldn't release any further details.
Strand's family said she was the mother of a 6-year-old girl and had plans to join the military.
"One of the last conversations we've had with each other, which was the day before she went missing, she told me that she's really working hard and she was really excited about her future," Herron said.
A cause of death has not been released.
The Bell County Sheriff's Department is working alongside APD in the investigation.
As for Strand's family, they told KVUE they will not stop searching for answers until someone is held accountable.
"Let me just say that none of our family is going to get tired until we get justice for her," Yarbrough-Kelly said.
If anyone has any information about this case, officials are urging people to call the Bell County Sheriff's Department at 254-933-5442 or the Austin Police Department Tip line at 512-472-8477.