Police looking into whether human remains found in Montrose backyard belong to missing homeowner

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Tenants made a grisly discovery at the tri-plex where they are living overnight in the Montrose area.

I saw the ribs poking out and that's what made me think, 'Is that a body? What is that?'" explained the woman who says she found the remains and called Houston police.

According to police, human remains were discovered in the backyard of a home in the 600 block of W. Clay near Stanford at about 11:30 p.m. Monday.

When officials arrived, they were directed to the yard, where the remains were found.

The woman who says she found the remains did not want to be identified, but says she's been living at the home for five or six months and has been trying to clean it up.

Investigators say an older man has been missing from the home since February, but because the body is so badly decomposed, it is unclear if the remains are connected to the disappearance.

"There's people who have just moved into the home, so they weren't here when the person went missing. So we got everyone out. Common practice for an investigation. We're questioning everyone no matter how long they have been living here, however short of time," said HPD Sgt. Stephen Jimenez.

Alex Bos has lived across the street for the past seven years and says he thought it was strange when the owner of the house seemed to disappear earlier this year.

"It was always pretty suspicious because he had a little Yorkie that he would take around everywhere. Then one day, he was gone, along with his truck, but the Yorkie was left behind," said Bos.

Cathryn Cummings lives next door and says there have been several different people living in the home over the past several months.

"It's been kind of a rotating cast of characters. I am not sure if any of them are paying rent since nobody knows where the homeowner is," Cummings said. "It's been several different people over the course of six to nine months."

Cummings said she was worried when she had not seen her neighbor for a while.

"Anytime anybody just kind of disappears, it's a little concerning, and he was a little older. It was, in what you would say, the height of the pandemic. I was afraid maybe he got sick," said Cummings.

As the investigation continues, neighbors on West Clay are eager to find out what happened.

"I am really curious to see what happened here, and hopefully we get some answers on what happened," said Bos.

A medical examiner has yet to determine the cause of death.

"I hope that the body is identified and the family can be notified as soon as possible. I also hope there was no foul play in my own neighborhood," said Cummings.