Missing Texas Teen May Be With Older Snapchat 'Predator', Family Fears

The family of a missing Texas teenager thinks she might be with a "predator" from California she met on social media.

Heaven Ray Cox, 15, was last seen in her hometown of Orange County, Texas, Saturday. Her mother, Tammy Day Cox, posted on Facebook Tuesday regarding her disappearance and urged anyone with information to come forward. The post since went viral with over 800,000 shares.

In the original post, Cox was said to be struggling with mental illness and possibly accompanied by a "much older" man.

"[The man] is a predator who manipulated her online into believing that he is her friend," the post read. "She suffers from mental illness and is currently in a manic phase due to being off of her medication."

The 15-year-old reportedly was in contact with the unidentified man over Snapchat, and the man apparently offered to pick her up in San Antonio on Thanksgiving Day - nearly 300 miles from the missing teen's hometown.

Cox was said to be without a cellphone and reportedly left a "goodbye note" addressed to her parents. Her parents reported her disappearance Sunday around 3 p.m. and local police listed the teen as a runaway. Authorities, however, were still investigating a possible link to the Snapchat predator, the Beaumont Enterprise reported Wednesday.

Cox disappeared more than a year after another Texas teen was kidnapped by sex traffickers she met over Snapchat. In April of 2016, an 18-year-old went missing from the Houston-area and was later saved in October. Her father, John Clark, hired private investigators after police were not performing at the speed Clark demanded.

"It’s nothing against the police… they’re set up to slowly, methodically build an airtight case," said Clark during an appearance on KHOU. "And in the time it would’ve taken to build an airtight case, I would’ve lost my daughter.”

Heaven Ray Cox is 5'3 tall, weighs approximately 113 pounds and has blonde hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is said to contact Orange County Texas Sherriff's office at (409) 883-2612.