SAN ANTONIO — The search for a missing Garden Ridge woman has shifted to downtown Austin, a private investigator hired by Leanne Bearden's family said Thursday.

Bearden, 33, who has been missing since Jan. 17 after leaving her in-laws home for a walk, was reportedly seen by “several different people” near Interstate 35 in Austin on Tuesday, said Charlie Parker, a San Antonio-based private investigator hired by the family.

“We've had several sightings of a woman who looks very, very similar to Leanne,” Parker said.

A detective for the Austin Police Department is assisting the family and Parker in the search, he said.

On Wednesday, Bearden's husband and father passed out flyers in downtown Austin near I-35 and Sixth Street, Parker said.

“Hopefully we'll come up with something soon,” he said. “We're very happy the cops are working with us because they can cover the area quickly and effectively.”

Bearden's family said Jan. 30 that there is a good chance she went missing on her own.

She disappeared with a survival pack and protein bars, according to her husband, and was seen walking along FM 3009 toward Interstate 35 on Jan. 17.

Bearden had recently returned from a two-year world traveling trip and her family has said they believe she felt anxiety about returning to her day-to-day life.

Sightings reported in Houston in January proved fruitless, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 210-651-6441 or Parker at 210-826-4052.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker