Showing posts with label investigators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label investigators. Show all posts

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Investigators work to ID teen girl dumped

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Nearly two months after the skeletal remains of a teenage girl were found dumped on the side of a road in north Harris County, investigators are still having a tough time identifying the victim.

Officials believe the girl was between the ages of 15 and 17 years old. Her body was discovered on the 125000 block of Walters Road in a garbage bag on the side of the road.

Investigators say the girl's body was so badly decomposed that they've been having some serious challenges identifying her. Now they're making another plea for the public's help.

A distinctive t-shirt with the cartoon character Smurfette and a pair of khaki cargo pants -- those major clues have been little help identifying a teenage girl whose remains were found dumped on the side of Walters Road.

Dr. Jennifer Love, Forensic Anthropology Director at the Harris County Institute for Forensic Science, said, "We've had a few possible matches reported to the office, however we have excluded them."

Dr. Love and her team have been working to identify the 15- to 17-year-old victim whose remains were found dumped on October 16.

"The pathologist at that time did do an autopsy," Dr. Love said. "However, given the stage of decomposition, many of the organs were badly deteriorated."

Investigators tell me that unidentified girl's remains were found in two black trash bags. They say they'd been out in this area so long, wild animals had already gotten to them.

Dr. Love says with no positive leads, so far the medical examiner's office isn't even sure if the young victim is from this area.

"We all understand that we have a human trafficking problem here in Houston," she said.

Dr. Love told me the next step for her team is developing more data from skeletal remains to build the victim's life history. They'll be consulting with other labs and conduct isotope analysis on the girl's teeth and hair to better determine where she originated.

"The teeth will give us where she developed as a child. The hair will give us where she's lived over the past year or so," Dr. Love explained. "So by using that information, you can kind of map her travels."

Investigators are urging anyone with information about that girl or her family to contact the medical examiner's identification unit at 713-796-6774.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »


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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Arson investigators on scene of house fire

See it on TV? Check here.Firefighters knocked out the fire quickly and no one was hurt Firefighters knocked out the fire quickly and no one was hurt

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Arson investigators in east Houston are at the scene of a house fire.

The one story home on Market and Boyles caught fire just before 3am Friday. Firefighters knocked out the fire quickly. No one was hurt. The home appears to be vacant.

No word yet on what caused the fire.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Arson investigators look into fire in SW Houston

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Fire investigators are taking a closer look at an early morning apartment fire in southwest Houston.

Flames broke out before 6am at the Forest Green apartment complex at Fonville and Fondren. Investigators believe someone started the fire on the outside of the building and it quickly took over the first and second floors. They don't think it was started by coals from a BBQ pit or even fireworks.

There were people living in one of the units that was heavily damaged. Arson investigators were on the scene for much of the day and continue their investigation.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »


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