Skeletal remains found in a cooler earlier this year have been identified as Dionne Williams, a 35-year-old woman who had been reported missing from Houston’s Fifth Ward last April.
Houston police say officers responded to a suspicious package call around 5 p.m. on February 12 in the 65 block of Hirsch Road. A witness told investigators he had discovered what appeared to be human remains inside a cooler. HPD homicide detectives and investigators with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences responded to the scene.
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The remains have now been positively identified as Williams, who had last been seen in the Fifth Ward in April 2024. Her disappearance sparked months of concern from her family, who said she had stopped contacting them and missed important family events, including Mother’s Day.
“We got very concerned when we did not see her for Mother’s Day. She would never miss Mother’s Day,” her mother, Melissa Cashaw, previously told KPRC 2.
Williams was reported missing on August 9, 2024. Family members said she had mentioned meeting someone in the area near Cavalcade and Hoffman before losing contact. Flyers were distributed throughout the area, but as months passed without answers, the family’s fears deepened.
“That someone has killed her,” Cashaw said in an earlier interview when asked about her greatest fear.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about Williams’ death or her whereabouts between April and August 2024 to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
