79-year-old woman found dead in NW Harris Co. after not returning from daily walk, family says
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 79-year-old grandmother was found dead in a bayou after she never returned from her morning walk in northwest Harris County, deputies said. Questions remain about how she died.
The woman's body was found along Downwood Forest Drive, near Antoine Drive and West Mount Houston Road, on Wednesday evening.
Her two sons told ABC13 that she goes for a walk every morning. When she didn't return home for several hours on Wednesday, her husband was worried.
When the sons went looking for her, they said they discovered their mom face down in a bayou about 1,000 feet from her house.
The sons identified their mother as 79-year-old Sau Nguyen. They said she came to Houston from Vietnam with her husband in the 70s to raise their children. She loved cooking for her grandchildren, the sons said.
The sons told ABC13 that investigators told them their mother had puncture wounds on her body.
However, in a later update, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said the investigation is ongoing and there was no indication at the scene that the woman had been attacked by dogs. Investigators said while they were at the scene for several hours, no one mentioned anything about dogs.
Deputies only called it a "death investigation." An autopsy report will confirm her cause of death.
ABC13 cameras captured video of several dogs being removed from Nguyen's neighbor's house on Wednesday. Other neighbors said the dogs have been a problem, terrorizing the neighborhood.
Some neighbors told ABC13 they have called authorities to complain about the dogs getting loose in the past, but nothing has been done.
"I was -- I was shocked, man. Shocked. Just saw her in the water. I had to jump down. I recognized her -- 'It's my mom,'" Uan Nguyen said. "She's a beautiful woman, beautiful mom. That's it. I'm not going to see her again. I will miss her."
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