Body found in search for woman unaccounted for in massive house fire in NW Harris Co., officials say

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Officials say a body has been found as the search resumed Friday for a woman who went missing in a massive house fire in northwest Harris County.

According to the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office, the fire happened Thursday afternoon in the 5500 block of Imperial Grove near the Beltway.

In a Friday afternoon update, Northwest Volunteer Fire Department Chief Wesley Cole confirmed a body had been found inside the home.

"We have located what we believe to be a deceased individual inside the structure," he said. "We do not know the identity of that person. We do not know if it's a male or female."

Crews resumed their search for the woman in her 20s around 8 a.m. on Friday, and the body was found around 2 p.m.

On Thursday, officials said three adults live in the home where the fire started, but two of them were not there at the time.

The fire marshal's office said two other homes were also damaged in the blaze. One firefighter was treated for heat-related injuries.

"It's a relief to be able to try to bring closure to the family of the deceased," Cole said after Friday's discovery. "It does bring us some relief, but it also brings us grief that we have lost someone in a fire."

He says it's difficult to find a body when a home is reduced to rubble.

"When this structure collapsed, all that debris fell on top of itself, and so we have to dig and we have to take every layer off," Cole said.

Neighbors also told ABC13 how intense the inferno was.

"It was a thick black smoke, really, really fast, a rush of a fire," neighbor Alfred Zabata said.

The chief said the medical examiner's office has been notified and will look at the remains.

The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation.

HCFMO shared images showing a home completely damaged, with portions of it collapsed.