A Birmingham woman was found dead Monday morning after being reported missing just one day earlier by family members who say they received calls and messages that she was being held hostage.
Mahogany Jackson’s family members called police Sunday after receiving texts from Jackson early that morning stating that she was being held hostage, according to AL.com.
Jackson’s mother, Gail Maddox, saw she missed multiple Facebook messenger calls from Jackson early Sunday morning after her other daughter called her, saying Jackson texted her a disturbing message. Jackson also texted her mother to call the police.
“She sent me a text message that said she was being held hostage and sent her location,’’ Maddox told AL.com.
Family members called the police, who accompanied them to Serenity Apartments, where Jackson called for help.
They went to a specific apartment where a woman Jackson knew said Jackson left the unit at 2 a.m. Sunday. It’s unclear if the woman knew where Jackson went.
Maddox disputed the woman’s account since Jackson dropped family members a pin from that location at 7:46 a.m. that morning. Police searched the apartment and the complex and didn’t find Jackson.
They called off the search for her at 9 a.m. Sunday since there were no other tips pointing to her whereabouts.
“Between then and now, I don’t know what happened,’’ Maddox said, adding she feared something terrible happened. “My daughter would never say call the police, but she was afraid, and that’s why she asked us to.’’
Then, in the early morning hours on Monday, Jackson’s body was found on a roadside. Someone who found her body at 17th Street S.W. and Laurel Avenue called police at 2:19 a.m. on Monday to report the discovery.
Birmingham police, as well as fire and rescue teams, went to that location and found Jackson dead at the scene with a gunshot wound.
Maddox posted about her daughter’s death on Facebook later that morning, stating, “They killed my child.”
Police haven’t released any suspect information yet.
