Grandmother of FOX 7 employee dated Elvis Presley

AUSTIN, Texas - Millions around the world are honoring Elvis Presley on what would've been his 80th birthday. FOX 7 has a unique connection to the King; the grandmother of an employee was actually his girlfriend in the mid-1950's.

Noelle Tijerina watches dozens of stories every day editing video for the Good Day Austin morning show. But this time she's the one telling the story.

"She always said before she passed away she wanted to get her story out," Tijerina says.

According to Tijerina, her grandmother Shirley Searcy had a long term relationship with Elvis.

Searcy was in her early 20s when she met the future King of Rock and Roll. They were at a show in Louisiana when Elvis spotted her in the crowd.

"During intermission he grabbed her, took her back stage to the band and said look what I found," Tijerina says.

Noelle tells FOX 7 that her grandmother and Elvis dated for about two and a half years

Show after show, Elvis let Searcy know in a special way that he was thinking of her.

Tijerina says, "The cue to let her know that he saw her in the crowd was to sing "I Have (sic) a Woman"."

In one of the pictures Tijerina shared, her grandmother and Elvis are in front of his infamous pink Cadillac.

Tijerina says her grandmother was part of the night when on their way back from Arkansas the classic car caught on fire.

"On their way back one of his wheel barriers (sic) caught fire and fans were driving by them, waving them down, saying your car is on fire," Tijerina says.

Tijerina says her grandmother had several marriage proposals from Elvis but that it wasn't a wise business decision so the two were not allowed to marry.

"He refused to let him marry her and after dating for two and a half years, they just kind of went their separate ways," Tijerina says.

Tijerina says her grandmother eventually married. Even though her grandmother has passed, Tijerina still remembers all the stories she would tell her about her time with Elvis.