Search on in Houston for missing son of Rep. John Conyers

HOUSTON – Police in Houston were searching Thursday for longtime U.S. Rep. John Conyers’ youngest son, who was reported missing this week.

Carl Conyers, a 21-year-old student at the University of Houston, was last seen Tuesday by his roommate, police said.

His girlfriend, Daisha Lewis, told WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit that she was supposed to meet him on campus Wednesday, but that he never showed. When she and friends checked his apartment they found some clothes and other items missing.

Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said the department is working with the FBI and Secret Service to find the student. The Secret Service is involved because Conyers is the son of a congressman.

John Conyers, who was first elected to Congress in 1964 and is its longest-serving member, said his wife, Monica, is in Texas awaiting any developments in the search.

“I’m very worried,” the Detroit Democrat told The Detroit News on Thursday. “It’s very unlike him. He’s a very stable young guy.”

A spokeswoman for the congressman issued a statement saying the family asks for privacy “as they work through this situation of uncertainty.”

Carl Conyers’ roommate, Chet Ball, suggested Conyers may have been overwhelmed by his studies.

“School can be hard on a person,” Ball told reporters outside of their apartment. “Stress is very serious.”

Corey Gentry, a friend and schoolmate of Conyers, told the Houston Chronicle that Conyers is active on campus, as president of the school’s Black Business Students Association and a member of an arts group called Uncommon Colors.

“Usually Carl’s a very logical and rational thinker,” Gentry said.