A family is searching for Birmingham, Alabama native, Nicole Denise Jackson, who went missing in 2018 after traveling to Germany with a man she met online.

According to AL.com, no one has heard from the 23-year-old in approximately two years. Her older sister, Ela Vaughn, told the outlet, “I know this is not like her. When I say no one has talked to her, I mean no one.”

Vaughn and her family originally believed Jackson went to Germany to pursue music and to attend school because it was free in the country. However, she recently discovered her sister was dating a man she met online. 

Vaughn explained, “I just found a few months ago they met online. I thought it was somebody she went to school with.”

They periodically received birthday text messages from Jackson but they questioned the authenticity of the messages. Text messages wouldn’t go through when  they replied and they weren’t able to connect when they called. The last text message was in 2019. None of Jackson’s close friends have heard from her, according to Vaughn.

The U.S. Consulate in Munich has not been able to reach Jackson and law enforcement show no record of her leaving Germany. 

Vaughn shared an email from the U.S. Consulate in Munich to her with AL.com, which read, “We have attempted communication with Ms. Jackson via the contact information we have available from state department records but have not been able to reach her thus far. Per previous recommendations, we strongly advise you to contact the German authorities directly to file a missing person’s reports or obtain information on your sister’s whereabouts.

Now that COVID restrictions are lifted for travel to Germany, Vaughn and her father plan to travel there to investigate for themselves and to search for Jackson.

There is a GoFundMe help with the family’s travel and search.