Found Deceased TX - Vy Ngoc Bao-Pham, 17, Houston, 20 Jan 2014

Vy Ngoc Bao-Pham, 17, was last seen at an apartment complex in the 8200 block of Broadway Monday. She's believed to have been abducted and is in danger.

She's an Asian female who stands around 5 feet tall to 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs between 110 and 120 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen Monday wearing shorts and a white T-shirt.

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Vy Ngoc Bao-Pham, 17, was last seen around 2:10 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex in the 8200 block of Broadway.

Houston police said Bao-Pham was walking to a nearby residence, but she never made it.

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Police said homicide detectives are investigating Bao-Pham's disappearance as a possible kidnapping.

Bao-Pham is considered to be in danger.

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Police say she was supposed to be going to a friend's home at another apartment nearby. She vanished, never showed up. And when she didn't come home the next day, her mother reported her disappearance to police. She's believed to have been abducted and is in danger, but authorities won't disclose how they've come to this conclusion.

Those who were friendly with the victim say news of her disappearance is unsettling.

"My mom, she was very worried. Last night, she called me, 'Amy, get home right now. I don't want anything to happen to you.' After hearing the news, everybody in this apartment is getting worried for the safety of their own daughter or son," said Amy Tran, Bao-Pham's schoolmate.

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Police believe the teen was abducted, and they think her 19-year-old boyfriend might have something to do with it.

"He is being interrogated at this time. I really hope in the next hour or two we are going to have some good information for you," HPD Lt. John Zitzmann said.

Right now, the boyfriend is a person of interest, but police say no charges have been filed. They say he is clearly more enamored with her than she was with him. Police first learned of the case after a cryptic text message Pham's family received after her disappearance. It demanded a significant amount of cash for her safe return.

But police now think money was not the motivator for the abduction. They describe it more as an affair of the heart.

"He made it very clear to us that they were very much in love and one day hope to marry," Zitzmann said.

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Not long after that, police say her family received a ransom demand.

"Received an electronic text message in broken English demanding ransom for the safe return of their daughter," said Lt. John Zitzman, with HPD Homicide Division.

Police at first thought it could be an extortion attempt to squeeze money out of the girl's father -- a businessman who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. But after running down those leads, they determined the kidnapping was real.

The investigation led them to the girl's 19-year-old boyfriend.

"We have a person of interest in our office; he is being interrogated at this time. I hope in the next hour or two we're going to have some good information for you," said Lt. Zitzman.

Police say the man came in voluntarily to talk and is cooperating. He has not been charged. But it's been more than 36 hours since Bao-Pham went missing and still no sign of her.

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The Cheese said:

Kristine Galvan ‏@KristineFox26 29m



HPD says person of interest in custody but not charged in connection with Amber Alert; he was an ex-boyfriend of missing girl @MyFoxHouston



Houston police say family of girl at the center of Amber alert got a text message demanding money. Text in broken English @MyFoxHouston

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