Missing Texas mom found dead

Infant appears to be safe; suspect arrested

AUSTIN, Texas — More than a week after a 33-year-old Texas mother and her infant daughter vanished, authorities said Friday they found the woman dead more than 100 miles away but the baby apparently safe, and they have charged a suspect with kidnapping and tampering with a corpse.

Heidi Broussard and her 1-monthold daughter, Margo Carey, were last seen Dec. 12 in their hometown of Austin, Texas, after Broussard dropped off an older child at an elementary school. Their abrupt disappearance drew national attention, and authorities now say the search appears to have ended with the baby being found alive but her mother dead at a home near Houston.

Broussard’s body was positively identified by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science, which called her death a homicide by strangulation. Though police had a person in custody, by Friday evening they had not announced any murder charges.

“Although we are grateful that it appears as though we have safely recovered baby Margo, again we do believe Miss Broussard lost her life in this incident,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters.

Manley said the person arrested in connection with the case had been charged with two counts of kidnapping and one count of tampering with a corpse. But he refused to disclose the person’s identity, citing the ongoing investigation, even while acknowledging that a name and picture was already being widely distributed by multiple media outlets.

Authorities said the baby found at the house looked like Broussard’s child, but they were still awaiting DNA tests. The baby was described as being found “healthy” and placed in the custody of Texas Child Protective Services.

Tammy Broussard, Heidi’s mother, earlier told NBC News that police told her the body was likely that of her daughter and that the body was found in the trunk of a car at the home in the Houston suburb of Jersey Village, about 130 miles southeast of Austin.

Austin police Detective Brad Herries said that after receiving numerous tips, a lead was generated this week that led to a “location of interest” in the Houston area.

Ricardo B. Brazziell The Associated Press An FBI agent canvasses a neighborhood searching for information on Heidi Broussard, a missing Austin, Texas, woman, and her daughter Wednesday in South Austin, Texas. Police said a body found in a home near Houston was Broussard’s.