Police find man's body and coffin believed to contain mom

LAREDO, Texas -- A welfare check by police to a house overgrown with weeds and other plants revealed the decomposing body of an elderly man - and a makeshift coffin containing remains officials believe to be those of his mother.

The Laredo Morning Times reports the gruesome find was made late Monday at a house in the South Texas border city of Laredo. First responders say the man appeared to be in his 70s. Neighbors say they hadn't seen him for a week.

A search turned up the makeshift wooden coffin. Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza says investigators can't confirm the remains are those of the man's mother yet, but that's the suspicion. There were no signs of foul play.

Neighbors say the mother had last been seen about seven years ago.

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