“We loved her so so so much we are grieving and so hurt from this,” the teenage daughter of Alicia Harnishfeger wrote in a GoFundMe
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Alicia-Harnishfeger-020126-d5e8f795fadd4a979dd85a6863f084e8.jpg)
Alicia Harnishfeger.Credit : gofundme
The body of a Texas mother of five was found under a bridge in downtown Houston amid freezing temperatures.
Alicia Harnishfeger’s body was discovered on Monday, Jan. 26, according to local news outlet Click 2 Houston. Her cause of death is still pending.
PEOPLE reached out to the Houston Police Department for comment on Sunday, Feb. 1, but did not receive an immediate response.
Temperatures in Houston dipped to 24 degrees the night before the woman’s body was found, per Weather Underground.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/Downtown-Houston-in-winter-020126-208e4daa18a14504b5b29404672d93ed.jpg)
Downtown Houston in winter.Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty
Harnishfeger’s 17-year-old daughter, Bianca Barajas, told the outlet that her mother struggled with both mental health and substance abuse issues. She also said that she had asked her mother to stay inside with her in a warm home — but Harnishfeger declined before she was found dead.
“Some people do have homes, they just refuse the services,” the daughter said while speaking to Click 2 Houston.
“She was a very sweet, kind, loving person,” she added. “And I just — if there’s another freeze coming up this weekend I would like everyone to know to protect their families whether they’re homeless or not.”
She noted that her family needs help covering her mother’s burial costs.
In the family’s GoFundMe description, Barajas described her mother as “so sweet and joyful,” adding that she “always had an interesting story to tell.”
“She did not deserve to die this way and it was messed up,” she added.
“Although she had her times and mental illnesses she still is a person who deserved better,” she continued. “We loved her so so so much we are grieving and so hurt from this.”
As of Feb. 1, the GoFundMe has raised $591 toward its goal of $6,000.