The news headlines are still trying to sort through the mysterious passing of Shanquella Robinson, and we already have a new story about someone disappearing after being out with friends. Delano Burke’s family is hoping they can pull the same amount of support from social media as they try to uncover what happened to their son, who was found near the port of Houston two weeks after disappearing.
Delano Burke was a 26-year-old Houston native and husband. Burke went out on November 13th with friends and had drinks at McIntyre’s bar near West 19th Street in the Heights neighborhood of Houston. Surveillance footage from the evening of his disappearance shows that Burke was escorted out of the bar after having too much to drink. His parents believe their son may have possibly been given some type of substance unknowingly. Unfortunately, the friend he was out with ended up leaving in his car and drove home.
“We believe it’s something sinister that happened with him,” his mother, Karen Jeffrey, proclaimed in a press conference. “He did not look like he had control of his legs. It did not look like he was going to make it very far.” Burke was seen wandering around the neighborhood around 1 am before going missing. HPD have not ruled out anything, but are waiting for an autopsy to confirm what may have happened.
His family spent 13 days handing out pictures of him and trying to find him. Their search ended in heartbreak when a person found in the Houston Ship Channel Friday was confirmed to be him. He was 12.5 miles away from the bar he stumbled out of days before. Burke is survived by his parents and his wife, Autumn. They have all been fighting to figure out what went wrong and still awaiting answers. “There’s so much life that was meant to live and so much love meant to give,” Autumn said in a post about her late husband.
According to the friends that were out with him that night, Delano was actually just in the bar to use the restroom. Accounts from the staff at McIntyre claim that Delano was asked to leave but never specified why. Videos show him running from the bar and stumbling on his way out. It is unclear why his friend left him. People online are already drawing comparisons to Shanquella Robinson and her “friends” claiming people need to be more aware of who their friends are.
Authorities report that a nearby Bayou close to the bar could easily have led the body to the shipyard, but they are still investigating what exactly happened. His parents are convinced someone did something to Delano and are still asking the public for help. His wife also started a Go Fund Me to help her make ends meet while she took time off work to locate him. “I made this GoFundMe to help with bills as well as expenses related to the search to find Delano. Anything is appreciated due to me not working at this moment, and he is the main provider of our household.” So far, she’s raised over 8k after only asking for $5000.
We’ll keep you posted as this story develops. Funeral arrangements for Delano Burkes have not been released to the public.
