HOUSTON — Investigators are looking for answers after skeletal remains were found Thursday in a northeast Houston home.
Police were called to the 5700 block of Rietta Street just before 1 p.m. after a remodeling crew found the remains under the floorboards of the house, according to Houston police.
Neighbors say the owner of the home was a man in his 70s who had lived there for decades.
Antonio Esparaza said they looked out for him, took him food and helped him run errands.
"His only contact was the broken TV, then we went to buy the new one and then he was happy," Esparaza said.
They hadn't seen him since the deadly freeze in 2021 and neighbors think the man might have crawled under the house to try and stay warm.
When he couldn't reach the man, Esparaza said he filed a missing persons report with HPD. He thinks the man's family had also looked for him.
They say new owners recently bought the property and were having it remodeled.
The remains were taken to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for examination and identification.
If you know anything about what may have happened, authorities want to hear from you. Call the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division at 703-308-3600.