WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The family of Ashley Elkins, 30, said time is of the essence as the missing mother of two hasn't been seen or heard from since Jan. 2.
7 News Detroit spoke with her mother, Monika Elkins, who is pleading for her safe return and for the public's help in getting answers.
According to family, Ashley Elkins left her Warren home on Knox Avenue around 8:30 a.m. to run errands. Her younger sister was the last loved one to see her. Monika Elkins stopped by the home but had just missed her.
"So, I text her and said, 'I had a dream that your car was taken' and she said, 'Aw man,' and so what I did was FaceTime her," Monika Elkins recalled.
She said Ashley Elkins didn't answer the FaceTime call, didn't call back and didn't reply any further to the text.
"She didn't say anything, which was strange to me and then I said to her, 'well, you know, be careful. Watch your surroundings.' Nothing (from Ashley) after that," Monika Elkins said.
Ashley Elkins' other sister, Alexis, said the sisters keep tabs on each other's locations through the iPhone Find My feature for safety purposes.
Hear more from family in the video player below:
A few hours after Ashley Elkins was last seen leaving home, loved one said her phone's last location appeared at an apartment complex in Roseville.
A man she used to date lives there.
"We knew that he had been trying to reach out to her, whether to get back with her, I don't know," her uncle, Maurice Morton, said.
However, by the time loved ones drove by the apartment, they said there was no sign of Ashley Elkins, the man, nor her vehicle. We're told she drives an older model 2009 or 2010 gray Chevrolet Malibu that doesn't have a license plate yet.
"She has not been in touch with anyone. We're talking about a mother of two children, who are 10 and 7 years old, who loves her children, loves her family. She's always in contact with her family and to not be in contact, not have responded in five days or reached out, that's just uncommon," Morton explained.
The family said the man she used to date hasn't been seen in days either. 7 News Detroit stopped by the apartment complex and knocked on the door. No one answered.
Ashley Elkins is a hairstylist and works out of her home.
"The day he came to (Ashley's) house, he act like he was a client and he made a (fake) appointment with her. She was expecting a client. It was him, and (her sisters) were in the house quiet," Monika Elkins recalled.
"She told (her sisters) to be quiet. He knocked on the front door and the side door and he left. And here, it's two days later and she's gone."
Warren police said the family reported Ashley Elkins missing Jan. 3. Investigators confirmed her last known location was Roseville and say they've canvassed several area businesses for video and are using digital forensics in the case to try to track her whereabouts.
"I understand they work very hard, but the family is asking them to work harder. We know that every minute counts," Morton said.
Ashley Elkins is described as standing 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-3, a Black woman and weighs 150 pounds.
If anyone knows anything about her disappearance or anything about the case, Warren police detectives want to hear from you. That number is 586-574-4784.
