Omni hotel employee who reportedly tried to ride out storm at hotel still missing

Jill Renick, a spa manager at the Omni hotel near the Galleria, has been missing since Aug. 26, 2017. Family members said they believed she tried to ride out the storm at the hotel where she worked, which suffered major flooding. less Jill Renick, a spa manager at the Omni hotel near the Galleria, has been missing since Aug. 26, 2017. Family members said they believed she tried to ride out the storm at the hotel where she worked, which ... more Photo: Renick Family Photo: Renick Family Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Omni hotel employee who reportedly tried to ride out storm at hotel still missing 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

More than a week after the Omni Houston Hotel's spa manager went missing as Tropical Storm Harvey's floodwaters poured in, her family is still looking for answers as to what may have happened to her.

Jill Renick, 48, was last heard from at 5:40 a.m. Sunday. Trapped in an elevator, she called the front desk of the Galleria-area hotel, then 911, on her cell phone, desperate for help, said Renick's sister, Pam Eslinger, 62.

Guests at the hotel on the third and first floors could hear Renick's cries from the elevator, they later told Eslinger. The staff shut off the power. About 100 guests evacuated, and water was pouring into the building.

The Omni, which backs up to Buffalo Bayou, flooded that Sunday, after downpours unleashed by Harvey. The hotel suffered major damage — a completely flooded basement and water in the lobby — that will keep it closed through at least October.

After authorities searched the hotel, Renick's family expected someone would find Renick, or, at least, a body. Yet, more than a week later, there's no sign of the spa manager.

Police searched at least one of the hotel's elevators and found it empty. Hotel staff told Eslinger they combed through the rest of the building.

Eslinger, and the rest of Renick's family, aren't sure what happened next.

"It's baffling to me that there is no sign of her — that she's vanished," Eslinger said. "And we're going into the second week now. And nothing."

The Houston Police Department on Tuesday assigned an investigator to Renick's case, which is behing handled as a missing person.

In the meantime, Eslinger has called the Red Cross, the National Guard, Houston-area shelters and nearby hospitals. She's also checked with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for a body that would match Renick's description.

Renick had spent the night at the hotel to help guests, in anticipation of bad weather, Eslinger said.

Hotel employees told Eslinger that Renick was awake early that Sunday morning. Between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m., Renick left her fourth-floor hotel room to go to the second floor to help guests, employees told Eslinger.

Within 10 minutes, cell phone records show, Renick was trapped and calling the front desk, Eslinger added.

The power was shut off by 6:30 a.m., she said.

"It is our understanding that a call from Jill was received by the front desk on Sunday morning," said Kristen Cadenhead, a spokeswoman for Omni, in an email. "At their request, we are not discussing the details of the call except with the family representative and law enforcement personnel."

She said the hotel conducted its own extensive search.

"When we determined Jill was missing, we immediately launched our own search of areas of the property we could still safely access despite the rising flood waters and contacted emergency responders to request assistance in locating her," Cadenhead said. "As waters receded from the building, we continued our search along with law enforcement personnel. The entire building has been searched and the Houston Police Department determined that Jill is not in the hotel or parking garage. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jill's family during this difficult time."

Eslinger still believes her sister, or her body, may be at the hotel.

Relatives and friends described Renick as friendly and caring, the kind of person who made family reunions fun, her nephew, Austin Miller, 40, said. She would never would have voluntarily left the hotel when guests were there in need, Eslinger said.

And, judging by what she left behind, it doesn't appear she had voluntarily left the building, Eslinger added.

A friend found Renick's dog, Sweet Pea, in the Omni hotel room where Renick had stayed Saturday night. A few days later, Renick's car was spotted in the Omni's flooded garage.

The uncertainty has left Eslinger, and the rest of Renick's family, desperate for answers.

"We just want to know where she is," Eslinger said.