ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Multiple police agencies spent hours Tuesday investigating at an apartment complex in Roseville that could be connected to a missing Macomb County mother.
Ashley Elkins, 30, of Warren hasn't been seen or heard from since Jan. 2, family said. They've been pleading for her safe return and for the public's help in getting answers.
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities investigated at the home of a man Elkins previously dated, police said. The apartment is on Pinehurst Street near 11 Mile.
Warren and Roseville police departments and Michigan State Police were at the scene. It's unclear at this time what investigators were looking for and if anything was found. The scene was cleared late Tuesday evening.
“Yeah, I saw all the police here and the police presence and so I ran to the maintenance guy and he let me know what was going on and I was shocked,” Timothy Dick said. "It's just so close. I mean, the building is right next to mine."
Watch Chopper 7 video from the Roseville scene below:
According to family, Elkins left her Warren home on Knox Avenue around 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 2 to run errands. Her younger sister was the last loved one to see her. Elkins' mother Monika stopped by the home but had just missed her.
After speaking with her earlier in the day, Ashley Elkins' family lost contact with her.
"She didn't say anything, which was strange to me and then I said to her, 'well, you know, be careful. Watch your surroundings.' Nothing (from Ashley) after that," Monika Elkins said.
Loved ones used the iPhone Find My feature in hopes of finding her. A few hours after she was last seen leaving home, her phone's last location appeared at the apartment complex in Roseville.
"We knew that he had been trying to reach out to her, whether to get back with her, I don't know," her uncle Maurice Morton told us on Monday.
Hear more from family in the video player below:
However, by the time loved ones drove by the apartment, they said there was no sign of Ashley Elkins, the man, nor her vehicle. We're told she drives an older model 2009 or 2010 gray Chevrolet Malibu that doesn't have a license plate yet.
"She has not been in touch with anyone. We're talking about a mother of two children, who are 10 and 7 years old, who loves her children, loves her family. She's always in contact with her family and to not be in contact, not have responded in five days or reached out, that's just uncommon," Morton explained.
The family said the man she used to date hasn't been seen in days either. 7 News Detroit stopped by the apartment complex on Monday and knocked on the door. No one answered. It's unknown if police have talked to him.
Ashley Elkins is a hairstylist and works out of her home. Family said the man came to her home after making a fake appointment as a client.
"It was him, and (her sisters) were in the house quiet," Monika Elkins recalled. "She told (her sisters) to be quiet. He knocked on the front door and the side door and he left. And here, it's... days later and she's gone."
Warren police said the family reported Ashley Elkins missing Jan. 3. Investigators confirmed her last known location was Roseville and say they've canvassed several area businesses for video and are using digital forensics in the case to try to track her whereabouts.
"I understand they work very hard, but the family is asking them to work harder. We know that every minute counts," Morton said.
Ashley Elkins is described as standing 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-3, a Black woman and weighs 150 pounds.
If anyone knows anything about her disappearance or anything about the case, Warren police detectives want to hear from you. That number is 586-574-4784.
— 7 News Detroit reporter Brett Kast contributed to this report.
