Missing Texas mom, luxury real estate agent seen in last photo before disappearance as family fears worst
The last photo taken of missing Texas mom of four Suzanne Simpson has emerged from the night she was last seen as federal authorities reportedly pursue sealed charges against her husband.
Brad Simpson, 53, was arrested Wednesday in Kendall County on a family violence charge in relation to his wife's disappearance, Olmos Park Police said. The couple allegedly fought before she disappeared on Oct. 6, police say.
Suzanne's mother, Barbara Clark, told News 4 San Antonio on Sunday that she does not believe her daughter is alive.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has released a photo of Suzanne from the night of Oct. 6, when she was wearing a black dress outside The Argyle club in Alamo Heights, near San Antonio.
TEXAS MOM, LUXURY REAL ESTATE AGENT MISSING AFTER PARTY AT EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE CLUB, HUSBAND ARRESTED
"We want people to have seen that photo and think, and say you know what, I think we saw her…and maybe she's in that same clothing, we don't know, maybe she was in distress, we don't know that, but we want the public to have seen her," Olmos Park Police Chief Fidel Villegas said in a news conference Thursday.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has filed sealed charges against Brad Simpson because some officials feared he might post bond and be released from the Bexar County jail, the San Antonio Express News reported. Further details on the indictment were not released.
According to jail records, Brad Simpson was sent to the Kendall County Jail on a $1 million bond on both charges for a total bond of $2 million. He was transferred to the Bexar County jail on Thursday.
If Simpson posts bond on the county charges, it is possible he could be transferred into the custody of the U.S. Marshals, KSAT reported, according to a Bexar County Central Records official. He is set for a bond hearing Tuesday at the jail’s auxiliary court, the outlet reported.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS MURDER TRIAL WAS 'CLASSIC BATTLE OF THE SEXES,' JUROR SAYS
Police continue to search for Suzanne, a 51-year-old real estate agent. Authorities previously announced that they found two evidence articles of interest in the woods, and they recently found "possible evidence" inside the Simpson home, Villegas said Thursday.
Brad Simpson has been charged with assault causing bodily injury, family violence and unlawful restraint for the Sunday night incident.
Police have tried to interview Brad, but he has been "uncooperative," Villegas said.
Suzanne's brother-in-law said in a Facebook post Sunday that the family is grateful for law enforcement efforts and "we will not stop until we find her."
Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6, there was a "disturbance" between the Simpsons at The Argyle, Villegas said at a previous press conference broadcast by WOAI News 4. The couple had been at a birthday party there, according to San Antonio Reports.
Police said the fight between the two got physical. Police were notified of this 24 hours later, when Brad reported his wife of 22 years missing.
A neighbor told police he saw Brad and Suzanne arguing outside his window, and the two then began physically fighting with each other, the outlet reported, based on a police report. The neighbor said he saw Brad "grabbing her upper torso area to gain control of her body," and when the neighbor went outside, he heard screaming coming from a nearby wooded area.
"That night we think she was in distress…it's very suspicious though that obviously she's not going to work, and she's not checking in on her children," Villegas added Thursday.
Suzanne was last seen on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 11 p.m. in the 500 block of East Olmos in Olmos Park. She is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighs about 140 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.
The neighbor also told police he saw Brad drive off in his pickup truck about an hour later and return about one or two hours after that.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is asking for the public's assistance, asking anyone who saw Brad's black 2019 GMC AT4 pickup truck, with a Texas license plate MWD7050, between the morning of Oct. 7 to 11 p.m. on Oct. 8, to please contact the Olmos Park Police Department.