Just over a year since the disappearance of 21-year-old Deundrea Ford, Houston police now confirm that skeletal remains discovered in Dallas have been positively identified as hers. Ford was last seen alive in the early morning hours of September 22, 2023, at 11927 East Freeway in Houston.
Yoland J. Washington, 51, currently stands accused of Ford's murder, his arrest rooted in the diligent work of HPD's own investigators. Washington, who was initially apprehended in Dallas on charges unrelated to this case, is charged with Ford's murder and sits in the Dallas County Jail, as Houston's authorities await his extradition back to Harris County. According to a news release from CityofHouston.News, a booking photo of Washington from January 14 has been released alongside this announcement.
Reporting on the case, HPD Homicide Division Sergeant R. Montalvo and Detective D. Higgs revealed that Ford vanished after she was seen leaving her workplace with an unknown male in a white Ford Transit van. Her absence quickly alarmed friends and family as attempts to contact her failed, leading to her being reported missing the following day.
Public details confirm the unfortunate discovery of Ford's remains by a line worker in Dallas on March 15. It took months of analysis before the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification could conclusively link the skeletal remains to Ms. Ford on September 17, as detailed by CityofHouston.News.
