Devin Brock, a 23-year-old Houston man who also goes by Devon, has been found safe after disappearing on foot from the 5200 block of Panay Park Drive in southwest Houston. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black jogging pants and black tennis shoes before an Endangered Missing Persons Alert went out on his behalf.
The Texas Center for the Missing, a Houston-based nonprofit that describes its mission as bringing hope and healing to missing people and their families, issued the alert on behalf of the Houston Police Department. In a post on X, the organization known as TX Center 4 Missing
confirmed Tuesday, September 29, that Brock had been located safe and that the alert had been cancelled, adding a note of thanks to the public for sharing his information.
Not the First Time Brock Has Gone Missing
Not the First Time Brock Has Gone Missing Brock was previously the subject of a similar Endangered Missing Persons Alert after going missing from Duxbury Drive in southwest Houston, according to FOX 26 Houston. During that earlier search, Texas DPS noted that Brock is non-verbal and diagnosed with an intellectual disability, a detail that helps explain why authorities move quickly whenever he goes missing again.
Why This Alert Category Exists
Texas's Endangered Missing Persons Alert carries a strict legal threshold. Under Texas Department of Public Safety regulations, triggering the alert requires a verified written medical diagnosis of an intellectual disability or pervasive developmental disorder, such as autism spectrum disorder, combined with law enforcement confirmation that the disappearance poses an imminent threat. The alert category was established by the Texas Legislature in 2011 specifically to distinguish these cases from child AMBER alerts.
Once activated, the alert has a built-in shelf life. State regulations cap an activation at a maximum of 24 hours per request unless law enforcement explicitly renews it, and investigating agencies must submit their requests within 72 hours of a disappearance. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-1840.
A Regional System Built for High-Risk Cases
The Texas Center for the Missing traces its origins to tragedy. The nonprofit was founded in March 2000 by Houston businesswoman Doreen Wise after the four-month disappearance and death of her 17-year-old son, Gabriel Lester. Today it serves as the primary regional alert administrator, coordinating AMBER, Silver, CLEAR and Endangered Missing Persons alerts across a 14-county Houston-Galveston region.
The caseload behind that system is substantial. Harris County law enforcement agencies logged 3,327 new missing adult reports in 2025, out of 4,159 total adult cases tracked across the 14-county network, per data compiled by the Texas Center for the Missing. Statewide, Texas law enforcement entered 40,309 missing person reports into the National Crime Information Center in 2025, including 12,080 adults and 28,229 children.
Endangered Missing Persons Alerts are one of six active statewide missing person alert programs overseen by the Texas Department of Public Safety, alongside AMBER, Silver, Blue, CLEAR and Camo alerts, according to WFAA. Research from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that nearly 49% of people with autism spectrum disorder attempt to wander or elope from safe settings after age 4, a pattern that helps explain why law enforcement treats these disappearances with such urgency given the risks of drowning or traffic hazards.
Brock's case follows a string of similar recoveries across the region this month. Hoodline reported the cancelled CLEAR alert for a 58-year-old Houston man found safe last week, and a Spring man's endangered missing persons alert was also called off after he was found safe. How Brock was ultimately located has not been detailed publicly.
