Harris County Deputy Found Dead Day After Missing-Person Alert

The Harris County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that one of its deputies died last week, shortly after an alert was issued by the Texas Center for the Missing.

Deputy Christina Kohler, 37, died Thursday in the 8600 block of Almeda Genoa Road, the office said in a statement released Monday. The Houston Police Department is investigating her death as an apparent suicide, according to the statement.

Kohler joined the sheriff's office in 2018. Most recently she was assigned to the courts division, where she worked as a bailiff in the 182nd District Court.

Harris County District Judge Danilo Lacayo, who presides over that court, said Kohler had served as a bailiff in his courtroom for nearly three years. "She was family to us and we are profoundly grieving her loss," he said in a statement. He added that her "infectious sense of humor could brighten any room" and described her death as an immense loss for her family and friends and for the entire sheriff's office. "She will be forever missed," he said.

A Houston Regional CLEAR Alert was issued Thursday for Kohler, according to a post by the Texas Center for the Missing. She had last been seen the day before in the 7000 block of Sante Fe Drive, near William P. Hobby Airport. At the time, law enforcement believed her disappearance posed "a credible threat to her own health and safety."

The post was later updated to say Kohler had been located and the alert had been canceled. On Sunday, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman wrote on Facebook that Kohler had died on the day she was reported missing, though he gave no further details. "Her name, her life, absolutely deserves to be remembered for her commitment to our profession," Herman wrote.

The sheriff's office said its Behavioral Health Division will provide "mental health and peer support services" to Kohler's colleagues in the coming days and weeks. "The Sheriff's Office is grateful for the community's prayers and support, and we offer our deepest sympathies to Deputy Kohler's family," the statement read.

Kohler's family is accepting donations through the Harris County Sheriff's Office Benevolence Association.

Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, or who knows someone who is, can reach the Suicide Hotline by calling 988 or contact the Harris Center for Mental Health at 713-970-7000.