HOUSTON — An investigation is underway after human remains were discovered in the backyard of a multi-unit home in the Montrose area home late Monday night.
Houston police confirm the owner of the home had been reported missing earlier this year, but they don't know yet if the remains found are his.
Crime scene investigators combed through the multi-level home Tuesday in the 600 block of West Clay near Stanford. A tenant who had been living in the home for about five months, and wanted to remain anonymous, made the discovery.
“I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before because, once you realize, it’s kind of obvious but it kind of blended in at first," the woman said.
Cathryn Cummings has lived next door for about a year.
She said the home where the remains were found is in a state of disrepair and the backyard looks like a junkyard.
“Garbage as far as the eye can see,” Cummings said. “Downed limbs, there’s a shopping cart back there, there’s been a bicycle back there, a children’s bike. It’s just been a mess.”
Cummings said she didn’t know the homeowner very well but she hadn’t seen him since the February freeze.
“It’s been a kind of a rotating cast of characters. I’m not sure if any of them is paying rent since nobody knows where the homeowner is,” she said.
Also, Cummings said she tried to file a missing person’s report on the homeowner but was notified there was already one on file for 79-year-old Colin Kerdachi.
“When someone goes missing and then there’s a body you hope it’s not the worst,” Cummings said.
Authorities haven’t released any information on whether they suspect foul play. They're hoping the medical examiner can determine the identity and the cause of death.
Police are also asking anyone with information on the missing man to please call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.