Alabama governor offers reward in search for woman who vanished from Birmingham bar
Alabama's governor is offering a reward for information as police search for a 29-year-old woman who disappeared after leaving a Birmingham bar.
Paighton Laine Houston has been missing since last Saturday, the Birmingham Police Department said.
"Unfortunately, another female is missing in the state of Alabama," Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement on Friday. "In the midst of the busy holiday season, it is critical that we support Paighton, her family and law enforcement to ensure we do everything possible to bring her home."
Houston vanished after she was seen leaving the Tin Roof bar about 10:45 p.m. Saturday, police said. She was spotted with two men and it appeared she left with them willingly, police said.
Houston had gone to the bar that night with a few friends. Shortly after midnight, she texted one of those friends saying "she didn't know who she was with and that she felt like she was in trouble," according to her brother, Evan Houston.
"It was like Paighton to check in... but it wasn't like Paighton to send a text like that," Evan Houston told "Good Morning America" on Thursday.
Police are "not quite sure" if foul play is involved, Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams told AL.com.
"This is kind of a strange case," Williams said. "We’re not sure where she may be or the last person she actually spoke to at this point.”
Williams did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on Saturday.
The governor said she's offering a $5,000 reward "to help encourage anyone with credible information to contact the appropriate authorities."
Houston's disappearance comes amid a string of high-profile missing persons cases in Alabama.
Aniah Blanchard, the 19-year-old stepdaughter of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Walt Harris, disappeared from a convenience store in Auburn in October. After a month-long search, the college student was found shot to death in November in a wooded area of Shorter, Alabama.
Blanchard's suspected killer faces a capital murder charge.
Also in October, 3-year-old Kamille "Cupcake" McKinney vanished while playing at an outdoor birthday in Birmingham. The girl's body was found in a dumpster over a week later.
The medical examiner ruled Kamille's cause of death as asphyxiation. Two people have been charged with capital murder of a victim less than 14 years old.
