Almost fourteen years have passed since Alexandria “Ali” Lowitzer vanished without a trace. In April 2010, after stepping off the school bus, she simply disappeared.
Ali was on her way home from school when she vanished, a short walk from her job on Cypresswood Drive in Spring, located about 25 minutes from Houston. Despite relentless efforts, there have been no significant leads in her case. Her cell phone, which she carried with her, went silent shortly after she got off the bus that fateful day.
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“Most of the time, there’s just not enough information. Additionally, I think people still envision Ali as a teenager because those are the last photos we have. Her birthday was in February and she turned 30,” Her mother, Jo Ann Lowitzer said. “I don’t believe people are actively searching for a 30-year-old, especially since it’s been almost 14 years and there’s been big changes.”
Jo Ann continues to receive occasional tips through the website she set up, though they have dwindled over the years.
She hasn’t heard from investigators in at least five years. Authorities went as far as instructing their private investigator not to contact them, despite providing all available information in the early years.
“It’s incredibly frustrating. You want the case to be worked, but when you reach out repeatedly, they brush you off,” Jo Ann said. “They even instructed my private investigator not to contact them anymore when we were conducting our own investigation. At the beginning of the first several years, we were giving them all the information we had.”
A lot of emotions were felt on Ali’s 30th birthday, Feb. 3 which happens to fall on Missing Persons Day. Despite the agony of her own tragedy, Jo Ann dedicates herself to helping other families in similar situations. She volunteers with organizations such as Texas Center for the Missing and Texas EquuSearch, finding solace in assisting others amidst her ongoing search for Ali.
“Ali drives me to continue. I figure I can only go forward,” Jo Ann said. “I can help myself and learn about different cases, different scenarios about missing persons and see if it applies to my own story and if I can help another family in the process. And then why not?”
Ali and her mother shared experiences in Girl Scouts and volunteered with a church group for Habitat for Humanity, reflecting her inherently caring nature, likely inherited from her parents.
“As someone who has always had compassion, if I can help someone else, even if that means giving my shirt off my back, I will do it.,” Jo Ann expressed. “That’s the only way I feel I can live the rest of my life: to continue fighting anyone and everyone to find her.”
Ali received her first cell phone, a blue LG slider phone, for Christmas that year, only to go missing with it in April. Jo Ann shares stories about Ali to emphasize that she’s a real person, not just a photograph or a memory. She posts regularly on her website and TikTok page sharing stories and memories of her daughter.
“That’s my way of keeping the word out there that Ali is still missing. I wanted to use that platform to give other families a voice because, in the couple of years after Ali went missing, she didn’t receive nearly the attention I felt she deserved because she’s still missing,” she explained. “It’s like you want to climb to the top of the tallest building and shout out that she’s still missing, hoping that anybody and everybody will just stop and listen to you.”
Throughout the almost 14 years, Ali’s parents’ message to anyone with information about Ali’s case has evolved. Jo Ann says they used to say we just wanted Ali back, to know where she is, and to bring her home. But now there’s anger behind it.
“How can someone live with this information for almost 14 years and not come forward? I plead, just tell someone who will tell someone else,” Jo Ann said. “We just want her home, no matter her condition, because the probability of her being alive is slim. When I talk about her, I try not to dwell on whether she was or is, but it’s a struggle. Deep down, I know she’s likely not alive anymore.”
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Jo Ann said cases like Jessica Delgadillo gives her hope after she disappeared in 2010 and was found alive and safe earlier this month. The details of Delgadillo’s disappearance were not released at her request.
In her heart, Jo Ann said she still wants to believe Ali’s alive somewhere, even after almost 14 years. Getting people to understand this ongoing hope is a constant battle.
“I feel like something went wrong that day; I can sense it. Without witnesses, there was no Amber Alert,” Jo Ann explained. “I urge other parents to get more involved in their kids’ lives, even if they push back. It’s the only way to keep them safe.”
The search for Ali persists, a reminder of the countless missing persons whose stories remain unresolved.
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Missing in Houston is a weekly column highlighting people missing from the Houston area. If your loved one is missing email hgalvan@kprc.com.