Pasadena police investigating softball coach after families claim he stole team's money and vanished
PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- An investigation is underway in Pasadena, where police say a man disappeared after taking money from families to help put together a softball team.
The HTX sliders softball team roster is filled with players who have hopes to one day play at the college level. Kristina Alvarez's daughter plays for them.
"When she tried out, apparently, she made the team right off the bat, so she was super excited," Alvarez said.
Alvarez says much of that excitement came from the promises made by a man who claimed to be a softball coach who was putting together a team with the promise of helping her daughter and others reach their college dreams.
The same was told to Stephen Grisham and Tabitha Solis.
"He was supposedly known to be a very good coach and to help recruit girls to get onto college teams," said Solis.
ABC13 is not naming the man because he hasn't been charged. Alvarez said she heard about him and met the man after seeing an online post.
"There was a flier on Facebook for this select team, showcase team. We had to meet up at 3k for them to try out," Alvarez said.
After the final roster of 13 players was set, Alvarez and other parents say they were told they had to pay him hundreds of dollars for things such as tournament fees and uniforms.
"He sent a text to the group, 'Either you pay tonight (or) your girl doesn't pay," Stephen Grisham said.
Instead of getting the players ready to compete, the parents tell us the man, who they thought was going to deliver on all his promises, went silent.
"He was canceling the practices. He canceled the tournament... Later on, I heard through texts that he wasn't answering, and he disconnected the group meeting," Solis said.
"We were checking to see if he was OK because his story prior to that was dealing with a death in his family, and he was in a car wreck," Alvarez said.
These families told Eyewitness News reporter Mo Haider that even though Pasadena police have found him, he still hasn't reached out to the parents.
"Saddening, very sad. I wish I could have a better statement than that. I mean, still struck that it happened," Grisham said.
Despite the financial obstacles, the parents are making sure their kids' softball dreams stay alive. They're now using their own money to fund the team going forward.
"It's my daughter's dream. She put herself out there. She's fighting, so I'm going to fight for her," Alvarez said.
Pasadena Police are in contact with the man and are asking more families to come forward if they've fallen victim to the incident.
