Yahoo Finance Missing Instagram Influencer Alexis Sharkey's Nude Body Found on the Side of the Road in Houston
Missing Instagram Influencer Alexis Sharkey's Nude Body Found on the Side of the Road in Houston
The 26-year-old was last heard from on Friday evening before her body was discovered Saturday
An Instagram influencer was found dead in Houston Saturday morning after family and friends feared she was missing.
Alexis Sharkey, 26, was supposed to meet up with friends to watch movies on Saturday, but wasn't responding to phone calls or texts, her mother, Stacey Clark Robinault, told news station KHOU11. Robinault said that her daughter was last heard from on Friday evening.
On Saturday, Alexis' nude body was found off the side of a road in West Houston, Houston police said, according to a previous KHOU11 report. Houston police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Monday, though KHOU11 reported that an investigation into Alexis' death is ongoing.
alexis sharkey/instagram Alexis Sharkey
Sharkey's friend Tanya Ricardo told KHOU11 that the influencer spent Thanksgiving at her house and last spoke with her around 6 p.m. on Friday. Ricardo explained that it was unusual for Sharkey not to respond quickly: "She is attached to her phone. She is a social media queen. She is an influencer. She works from her phone."
So when Alexis was unresponsive Saturday, her friends and family began to worry.
On Saturday, Alexis' mom posted a plea on Facebook, saying that her daughter had been missing for more than 24 hours. She said that she was alerted her daughter was missing by her son-in-law, Tom Sharkey, ABC 13 reported.
"We were notified on Saturday that she was missing by her husband," Robinault told the outlet, adding that Tom "called us up to let us know, and that's when, of course, any parent goes into full panic mode."
alexis sharkey/instagram Alexis Sharkey
"Please share this post!!! My daughter, Alexis Sharkey, is missing!!" Robinault wrote. "No one has heard from her for over 24 hours and the police are involved. She has lived in Houston Texas since January and that was where she was last seen. Please help us find her and bring her home safely!! We are so very desperate!!! Please share!!"
On Sunday night, Robinault shared another post, confirming that her daughter's body had been found.
"It’s with deeply broken hearts that Mike and I want to let you all know that Lexi’s body has been found," she wrote. "We cannot begin to thank you all for your love and the kind words you’ve extended to our family! Please give us this time to grieve this incredible loss to our family and this world!!! We will miss you, Love!!!!"
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Alexis had moved to Houston with her husband in January.
Ricardo told KHOU11 that Alexis and Tom had been going through a rough patch in their relationship.
"Recently, she opened up to us about it and divorce was being filed," the friend said. "She was a very private person. She didn’t share a lot about what was going on at home."
Tom has shared several posts on Facebook grieving the loss of his wife.
"You made life so incredible! Made sense of my existence! My purpose! And showed me how to truly love!" he wrote in one post, sharing photos of Alexis trying on wedding dresses. In another, he added, "My world! My everything! I’m so lost right now! My one and only!"
Ricardo said that Alexis is being remembered as a positive influence on those around her.
"She was always happy, always had a smile on her face. A lot of people looked up to her. She was just very, very positive," Ricardo said to KHOU11. "I don’t know who could have done something like this to her."
"Whoever did this, we’re going to find them. We’re going to do everything it takes. So, everyone can put her to rest in peace," added Ricardo to KOU11.
"I mean, just threw her on the side of the road, naked, like garbage. I just, I don’t get it," Ricardo told the station. "No one gets away with something like this. No one."
Robinault told ABC 13 that her daughter loved to travel and was a "ray of sunshine."
"She was so excited about finding her way in the world. Even though we're from a small town and she loves coming home ... she wants to see the world, always wanted to see the world," she told the news outlet.
"I do believe she was murdered," Robinault added. "Yes. From what I've been able to gather as well as a mother's gut. I learned very young as a mom to trust my gut. It's not let me down."
A vigil has been scheduled for December 3 at Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park, according to the station.
A GoFundMe campaign has been created to raise money for Alexis' memorial. As of Monday evening, $12,516 has been raised toward the campaign's $15,000 goal.
