UPDATE
CrimeOnline previously spoke with a friend of Heidi’s as part of our investigation. While she wishes to remain anonymous, we can confirm that she is not the suspect currently in custody, in connection with the case.
Original Story
As the desperate search for a Texas woman and her 3-week-old baby continues, a friend of missing mom Heidi Broussard wants the public to know that she would have never left willingly, especially without her oldest child.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Heidi was last seen dropping her son off at Cowan Elementary School in Austin on Thursday morning at around 7:50 a.m. Friends and family said she dropped the boy off at a book fair at the school.
Authorities said Heidi and her infant daughter, Margot, returned home afterward, at the Club at Summer Valley apartments off of West William Cannon Drive and South First Street. At some point afterward, both mom and baby disappeared. The apartment complex is around three miles away from the elementary school.
Heidi’s fiance, Shane Carey, reported her missing at around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, around 12 hours from the last time he said he spoke to her.
CrimeOnline spoke with a friend of Heidi’s on Tuesday. Although she wants to remain unnamed at this time, the friend stressed that Heidi would have never left her son behind. The friend said Heidi “always had him [her son] by her side.”
During a conversation in May, according to the friend, Heidi spoke about her living arrangements. The friend said Heidi wanted to move to a vacant home in Kyle, Texas, that belongs to Carey’s father. The friend said she had no idea that Heidi never moved to the home, and was surprised to hear she was still living in her Austin apartment.
The friend added that Heidi planned to drive her son 40 minutes each way from Kyle to a school in Austin so that the child could stay in a good school.
“She was willing to drive 40 minutes out of her way to have them in a better school. That’s not a mother that leaves…..I feel like everybody is focusing on her running away and knowing Heidi I doubt that.”
CrimeOnline spoke with the Austin Police Department’s Cold Case Missing Persons’ Unit, who confirmed that the friend informed them of Heidi’s plans to move to a house 40 minutes away from her Austin apartment.
The friend said she was also surprised when Heidi told over the summer that she had gotten back together with Carey. The pair had apparently previously broken up, according to the friend.
“We didn’t talk about Shane very often but the last conversation we had I was shocked to find that they were back together…..She had told me that they broke up but never told me they got back together [until this summer]. I always found that weird. Wouldn’t she have told me out of excitement? I knew she was pregnant I just didn’t know she was back with Shane.”
The friend added that although she doesn’t know the details of the pair’s previous breakup, their relationship had been “kind of rocky.”
Further, the friend said Carey’s recent behavior after Heidi disappeared differed from his previous behavior, when he allegedly showed up to her house almost immediately after Heidi didn’t answer her phone.
“Why would that not scare you as a husband? I specifically remember a time she [Heidi] was at my house and didn’t answer her phone. He [Carey] showed up to my house freaking out right after he got home.”
Efforts to reach Carey so far have been unsuccessful.
Authorities could not specifically confirm their investigation as to the status of the relationship between Heidi and Carey.
Attached is an updated photo of Heidi Broussard from Dec. 12, 2019 at 7:50 a.m. at Cowan Elementary. The clothing pictured is what she is believed to have been wearing when she was last seen. Anyone with information about her and Margot is asked to call 911 immediately. https://t.co/bvpNxAqX7i pic.twitter.com/KS0aMJSbAg
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) December 13, 2019
During a Thursday press release, Detective Brad Herries with APD Violent Crimes said Carey is not considered a person of interest at this time, nor is anyone else.
“We don’t have a person of interest right now. To be completely honest, anything is possible at this time.”
Harries added that the FBI’s Child Abduction Deployment Response team also joined the investigation. Harries added that it doesn’t necessarily mean that there was an abduction. Authorities are currently covering all bases.
“Anything is possible at this point,” Harries said. “At this time, we have no reason to believe Broussard nor the baby are harmed. We are still looking for them in a search and recovery manner.”
On Monday, Carey told KVUE that he left their apartment at 6:40 a.m. for work on Thursday. He said he last heard from Heidi at around 8:15 a.m. that same morning. She reportedly she called him and said she spent around $25 at the book fair.
“[Broussard] called me around eight something on her way home from the book fair — said she spent $25. I was like’ that’s okay.’ I told her ‘I have to go’ because I was on my way out [to work] and I told you ‘I love you, bye.’”
Carey said he arrived home from work at around 2 p.m. on Thursday and didn’t see Heidi or baby Margot. Heidi’s car and purse were left behind. Casey also said the baby’s belonging were left behind. There were reportedly no signs of struggle in the home.
Carey said he received a call from their son’s daycare at around 6 p.m. Apparently, no one had picked the boy up yet. Carey, who is also the father of Margot, said he subsequently contacted 911.
Carey explained that he didn’t call police beforehand since Heidi has a friend in the same apartment complex. He thought she had gone to her friend’s home and didn’t think anything was unusual until he realized their son was still at daycare.
“Everything was like she was home,” Carey told FOX 7. “I mean that’s why I thought she was at her friend’s house…..Her car seat is upstairs, her purse is upstairs, her ID, wallet; there are no signs of her taking the baby. She would never leave her car door unlocked. Her car door was unlocked. So that’s a weird sign.”
The pair have been together around a decade, according to Carey. He said he’s never known Heidi to have enemies and doesn’t know of anyone who would want her harmed.
“I just don’t see why no one heard any screams or anything out here so we’re trying to put the puzzle pieces together,” Carey said.
Carey said Heidi’s phone is unaccounted for. He said when he tried to call her on Thursday afternoon, it went straight to voicemail.
“It’s just the only thing gone is [Broussard] the baby, her keys and her cellphone, which has been off since I tried to call her at 1:40,” Carey said.
According to NBC 9, Heidi’s friends said her apartment door was found wide open when Carey arrived home. CrimeOnline reached out to the Austin Police Department, but they have not confirmed the details.
Heidi is described as a white female who stands 5-foot-3-inches tall and weighs around 150 pounds. She has long, dark hair with highlights.
“I just want her to come home,” Carey said. “She’s amazing. She’s missed. She has her whole family here supporting, praying for her to come home, and hopefully, that’s just – I don’t know – somebody to bring her home safe. I don’t care, just drop her off.”
Meanwhile, Heidi’s parents spoke publicly for the first time since Heidi’s disappearance. They, too, say that Heidi would have never left willingly.
Anyone with information should contact the Austin Police Department immediately.
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[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
