HOUSTON – The death of 26-year-old social media influencer Alexis Sharkey has taken an emotional toll on family and friends.
“Everyone loved her,” said Chealsea Turnbow, one of Sharkey’s closest friends. “She was such a bright light.”
Sharkey’s body was found Nov. 28 along Red Haw Street off the Katy Freeway after she went missing the day before.
Officials have yet to determine Sharkey’s cause of death, but friends and family have said they believe someone killed her.
Turnbow is pleading with the public to continue sharing Sharkey’s story in hopes that justice will be swift and the person responsible is put behind bars.
“My plea is just for everyone to keep speaking about her and to make her story as relevant as possible because as long as we are talking about it, it’s going to be heard and everyone can do their job,” Turnbow said.
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Turnbow said she first became aware of Sharkey’s disappearance the night before her body was found when her boyfriend received a call from Tom Sharkey, Alexis Sharkey’s husband.
“He just said, you know, ‘Lex, she left the house. We got into an argument. I don’t know what’s going on. Can you have the girls reach out to me?’” Turnbow said.
Turnbow said Alexis Sharkey’s body was found not long after that phone call.
“Since then none of us have been able to grieve or think about grieving her death because we want justice for her, and that’s what we’re focused on right now,” Turnbow said.
The Harris County Medical Examiner said that it is still working to determine how Alexis Sharkey died. Investigators have said there were no visible wounds.
Turnbow said a memorial scheduled for Thursday has been rescheduled to allow law enforcement a chance to fully investigate the case.