HOUSTON — The search continues for a man who has been missing for more than a week.
Delano Burkes, 26, was last seen on video stumbling near some bars in the Heights in the early-morning hours on Nov. 13.
Last week, his loved ones were passing out flyers with his name and picture in the area in which he was last seen.
This week, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is helping them amplify their efforts. The local congresswoman held a news conference Tuesday to talk about the search for Burkes. She announced a $5,000 reward via Crime Stoppers for information that helps lead investigators to him.
“We want to find Mr. Burkes. No family should have to experience this," Jackson Lee said.
What happened
Delano went out with friends, one of which was driving Delano’s car when they pulled over in a restaurant parking lot near Bevis and West 19th and 20th Streets in the Heights. That’s when they said Delano went next door to McIntyre’s to use the bathroom.
Burkes was last seen on surveillance around 1 a.m. that Sunday. One video shows Delano leaving McIntyre’s after he was apparently asked to leave. In other videos, he appears to run and stumble nearby.
According to his family members, Delano's friends left without him and his phone ran out of battery. He also didn’t have an ID.
“He was with a friend that he hadn’t seen in a while ... they left him at the club," Delano's mother, Karen Jeffly said. “They had been there for a while, they were watching a fight, so he was tipsy. In the video, you can tell he was tipsy but we also feel like there was more involved ... we feel like he was drugged, too."
Burkes is described as being about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black and gray plaid button-up shirt and blue pants. He has brown eyes and black hair.
Police said they're still trying to figure out what happened that night.
“We do not have any information to suggest that he was drugged or slipped anything, (but) we can’t rule that out ... not saying it didn’t happen,” HPD Asst. Chief K.J. Deese said.
Houston police are investigating. If you know anything, you're asked to call HPD's Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840.