Delano Burkes missing: 26-year-old Houston man vanishes after bar hopping in the Heights

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The family and friends of a 26-year-old Houston man are in a real-life, stress-filled wait for a resolution in their loved one's disappearance after search crews say he vanished after bar hopping in the Heights over the weekend.

According to the Houston Police Department, Delano Burkes, just after 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 13, left McIntyre's Bar on West 20th Street, where several bars are located.

As of Friday, Burkes has not been seen or heard from as the nonprofit organization Texas EquuSearch sent a small team to a wooded area near White Oak Bay Bike Path along East TC Jester, which is less than a mile away from where he was last seen.

Mark Edwards, who is the group's search coordinator, told ABC13 that they started searching the day before, combing the area and putting up flyers. They also said Burkes was at Moonshine Deck, which is a neighboring bar to McIntyre's.

He walked westbound before disappearing, Edwards said.

The group added that Burkes has his phone with him but calls have gone straight to voicemail. They also learned that some of the friends he left behind that night also tried to look for him. When they couldn't find him, they left with his car and headed home, Edwards said.

In a new development, Burkes' mother, Karen Jeffley, has been receiving calls and was tipped off that Burkes was possibly seen in downtown Houston.

Texas Equusearch says that those tips are extremely helpful and can really make a difference.

Was Burkes in distress? Cameras may have captured him

Eyewitness News went out to the search area Friday afternoon, where Burkes' mother, wife, and friends were canvassing for any sign of their loved one.

"We've been out all day long, trying to get clues, trying to get video clips, trying to see anything about where he was, what direction he went," his wife Autumn Burkes said. "But me and his family were not stopping, because this isn't normal."

Burkes' family is in possession of surveillance camera footage from a storage facility and bar that appears to show him in some distress and running away that night.

"He disappeared down the street," his mom Karen Jeffley said. "He's stumbling, looking very frantic. I don't know what's going on."

ABC13 obtained the video from the family, which shows Burkes stumbling as he was walking, clearly in distress.

His disappearance also necessitated the use of a Houston police drone launching in the area.

Burkes' description

Burkes turned 26 back in September. Police say he's a Black man, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 200 pounds, with a medium brown complexion. He has brown eyes and black hair.

He was last seen wearing a black and gray plaid, button-up shirt and blue jeans. HPD also released a photo of Burkes taken that night before he was gone.

Police urge anyone who has seen or located Burkes to call HPD's Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840.

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