Ashley Lucas’ friends and family tell Dateline that they all have the same Christmas wish this year – that the 34-year-old Texas native is safe.
“We just want to know she’s okay,” said Ashley’s sister Jennifer “Jen” Ackerson. Nobody has news of her for so long… it doesn’t make sense.
Ashley has been missing since late September 2020, but left Texas on July 8 to drive to Florida for a 2-week job caring for her friend’s elderly mother.
She never came home.
Jen told Dateline that she last spoke to her sister on the phone in late August.
“She was planning to come home at that time, so we talked about it,” Jen explained. “She didn’t say anything unusual, so everything seemed fine.”
Jen said her sister has been known to go off alone for weeks, but she always calls someone to check in.
“She always… always called our mom,” Jen said. “That she is not in contact with Mom is not like her. She constantly worries about her and will call the police for a wellness check if Mom doesn’t answer her phone. She would never put her through this.
Jen told Dateline that in addition to Texas and Florida, her sister has close ties to Ohio and thinks she could be in one of the three states.
“We hope that by keeping her story there, someone will see her photo and call the police,” Jen said. “We just want to know that he is safe and well.”
Ashley’s friend and roommate in Florida, Jeff Epperly, told Dateline that he thinks she’s one of the last people to see her. They had been friends for just over a year and Ashley had agreed to babysit her mother in Lake Placid, Florida for two weeks while her sister was on vacation.
“He worked for about 10 days before my sister got home early,” Jeff said. “But Ashley wanted to stay in Florida, so we ended up getting an apartment together.”
Jeff told Dateline that life in Dania Beach, Florida was good, but in the weeks leading up to Ashley’s disappearance, things got worse.
The story continues
“She was going through a lot in her life… drug addiction, mental problems,” Jeff said. “It seemed that everything fell on him at once and began to break.”
Jeff told Dateline that, like Ashley’s sister, he noticed that Ashley always cared about her mother in Texas. Shortly before disappearing, Ashley received a text message from a Florida number. She said the text said it was her mother.
“She became very paranoid and thought her mother had been kidnapped,” Jeff said. “He even thought I was involved. But then he would apologize and everything would be fine a few days later.
Jeff said Ashley went to the emergency room multiple times for anxiety attacks in August before finally checking into a drug treatment center in Fort Lauderdale. Jeff told Dateline that Ashley had told him to stick with his important roles and that she would come back for them. He added that Ashley got rid of her cell phone, which was disconnected, but knew she would find a way to reach him.
Weeks passed and when Jeff didn’t hear from Ashley, he became concerned. She reviewed several mental health facilities before discovering that she was last seen leaving a facility at 901 Northeast 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale on September 19, 2020.
“We were always in contact,” Jeff said. “If there was a problem, she would call me. She is my best friend. Not hearing from her… I just don’t get it.
He reported his disappearance to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department on October 9, 2020 and they began an investigation.
According to public information specialist Casey Liening, this information was the initial information provided to the police, but “a further investigation by our detectives revealed that Ashley was last seen in West Palm Beach and that Baker acted by the Police Department. from West Palm Beach on September 24. her release a few days later, it appears that she did not get in touch with the family or the accused and nothing has been heard from her since.
The “Baker Act”, which allows an involuntary examination for up to 72 hours, can be initiated by law enforcement officials, judges, doctors or health professionals. There must be evidence that the person has a mental illness and / or is in danger of harming himself or another person.
Liening told Dateline that the investigation into Ashley’s disappearance is considered active and ongoing and that FLPD detectives have been in contact with Ashley’s mother throughout the investigation. He added that detectives have no indication that there has been a crime, but encourage anyone with information to call the police.
Ashley’s sister Jen and her family said they feel like they are in the dark, being so far away in Texas. But they are trying to spread the word about Ashley’s case on social media with the Facebook page “Find Ashley Lucas” and the hashtag #FindAshleyLucas.
“There are so many people who love her and are looking for her,” Jen told Dateline. “We are not going to give up.”
Jen said she’s had her ups and downs with her sister, whom she describes as outgoing and someone who has never met a stranger.
“He makes friends wherever he goes,” Jen said. “I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing… I only care about the people I was with, even though I was trying to change their life and get help. I just hope that being friends with the wrong people is not their downfall. “
Ashley’s friend Jeff told Dateline that he continues to hang up flyers and talk to people in the South Florida area, but adds that he loses hope as the day goes on.
“I don’t want to lose hope, but it’s hard and I’m starting to think the worst,” Jeff said. “I feel so guilty… because I asked Ashley to go back to Florida. If something happened to him, he would never forgive me.
Jeff told Dateline that while he understands that Ashley suffered from addictions and mental problems, he said that he believed she was trying to get on the right path and wanted to live a new life.
“She was always so worried that something would happen to her mom, but then something like that would happen to her,” Jeff said. Maybe she knew. Because she told me that if she ever disappeared, she wanted me to come find her. So that your family wouldn’t worry. And I intend to keep that promise.
With the holidays just around the corner, Jeff told Dateline that he only wants one thing this Christmas.
“A phone call … to let me know that Ashley is okay,” he said. That’s all I could wish for.
Ashley is 5’9 ”tall, weighs approximately 145 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes. He has several tattoos on both arms, legs, and upper chest.
If you have any information on Ashley’s whereabouts, please contact Detective Tiffany Williams at (954) 828-6617 or your local police department.
–
