Updated Sept. 11, 2024

A 30-year-old Princeton mother of two was found dead in Missouri after being abducted by a former boyfriend, authorities said.

“He took someone’s daughter, someone’s friend, someone’s mother, selfishly,” Salomi Momoh of Garland told WSDK Five on Your Side after learning the body of her friend, Delisha Dene Evans, was found in the wreckage of her car.

The Princeton Police Department issued a critical missing person report for Evans, on Friday, Sept. 6, when she was reported missing following a fire at her home in the 3600 block of Winding Meadow Trail.

Family members told police Evans, known as DeDe., was last seen the night of Wednesday, Sept. 4, and they believed her to be in imminent danger from Ryan D. Phillips, 33, who had been seen in the area.

Evans and Phillips, both from St. Louis, began dating in November of last year, but Evans broke it off last month, Momoh said.

“On multiple occasions, he told her he would kill her,” Momoh said.

Texas Rangers and the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) tracked Evans’ red 2018 Range Rover to the St. Louis area, where troopers tried to stop the vehicle along Interstate 44.

A chase ensued, ending in a residential neighborhood in Affton, Missouri, when the car rolled over by Kyle Moder’s house.

“We saw cops and shields coming out,” Moder said. “We knew the situation was pretty dire.”

Moder said he heard 10 to 15 gunshots and took cover.

“We can confirm that a trooper did fire his weapon and a firearm was also recovered from the scene next to the suspect’s vehicle,” MSHP Cpl. Logan Bolton told First Alert 4 (KMOV-TV).

“The male and female were pronounced dead on scene, and the cause of their deaths are currently undetermined,” he said. “The incident is still an active investigation and is being conducted by the Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Patrol.”

A release from Princeton Police Chief James Waters said Princeton police and Texas Rangers were also investigating the case.

Evans was survived by two daughters 4 and 13, and Casondra Lewis of Maryland Heights, Missouri, has created a Go Fund Me page for them.

“Fortunately, her daughters are safe with their father and family in St. Louis but have limited essential items due to the result of the fire,” the page said. “The family will need help with expenses, including relocation, clothes, shoes, toiletries, school supplies, etc.”

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