Police Find Body of Alabama Woman Who Went Missing After Texting 'I Feel in Trouble'

An Alabama woman disappeared after leaving a bar in December, and police now say they've found her body.

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crime scene

An Alabama woman disappeared after leaving a bar in December, and police now say they've found her body.

Paighton Houston went missing after she left a Birmingham bar, texting her coworker than she felt she was in trouble. The woman, who has been missing since Dec. 20, said that she was with strangers, according to CNN.

"On 1/2/2020 detectives with the Trussville Police Department along with investigators with the Metro Area Crime Center developed information on a possible location for the remains of Paighton Houston," Trussville Police Department said in a statement.  The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is continuing to look into the cause of her death.

"That information was shared with the Birmingham Police Department and investigators arrived on the scene and discovered what appeared to be a shallow grave," it continued. "Law enforcement secured the area and a search was conducted this morning (1/3/2020) in which human remains were located behind a residence on Chapel Dr. Those remains have been identified as Paighton Houston. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Houston family as they begin the grieving process."

Charlaine Houston, Paighton's mother, took to Facebook to ask people to continue to pray for her family.

"Our family didn’t get the news we had hoped for but I am very grateful that Paighton is coming home. We don’t have to go through the torture of not knowing what was happening to her and where she could be," she wrote on Facebook. "God answered our prayers, he brought her home to us. I prayed that if she was already in heaven, I just had to know so my heart could put closure to the missing nightmare."

"Paighton is eternally home with Jesus. Our family appreciates all the prayers, love and support from the Trussville community and around the world for Paighton. She touched the hearts of many in our efforts to bring her home and my heart is touched by everyone’s love for our family," she continued. "God will be our strength in the hard days ahead as we go through finding out what happened and life without Paighton. Continue to pray for our family. We are so thankful to you all!"

Houston's cause of death has not been released at the time. No suspects have been named, but as of now, it has not yet been deemed a homicide.

"Right now we have a lot more questions than answers,'' Jefferson County sheriff’s Chief Deputy David Agee told Al.com, “but we hope to have those answers real soon. We’re gonna work hard and we’re going to find out what happened.”

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