A family in Harris County, Texas, is seeking answers.
Their loved one, 69-year-old Josefina Montesdeoca, was just found dead in a manhole behind their home.
Montesdeoca lived with her daughter Stephanie Lopez, son-in-law, and husband.
She was reported missing on Friday, September 13, 2024.
Despite searching the area near FM-1960 and Kuykendahl, the family could not locate her.
Lopez shared her mother's phone location but realized the phone had been turned off.
Desperate for help, the family contacted the Harris County Sheriff's Office to file a missing person report.
However, they were left frustrated when the initial deputy asked a few questions, provided a case number, and left.
When they didn't hear back from the missing persons unit the following day, they learned that the unit was closed on weekends.
Lopez also attempted to enlist the help of a search and rescue group.
However, they refused because they needed approval of the sheriff's office.
In response to inquiries from ABC13, the sheriff’s office clarified that its Missing Persons/Runaway Unit is on call 24/7 for cases involving immediate danger, mental illness, or life-threatening conditions.
On Sunday, friends from the family’s church stepped in to help.
To Lopez’s shock, they soon found Montesdeoca.
"They said, 'They found her! They found her!'" Lopez recalled.
"I ran to the field, thinking she was sitting somewhere, not in a hole. But they told me she was down there, like she was praying," she added.
Stephanie Lopez believes her mother was praying when she was found in the manhole and takes comfort in thinking she didn’t suffer.
What’s heartbreaking for her is that she had been calling for her mother near that very spot.
Unfortunately, she was unaware that she was trapped at the bottom.
Behind Lopez’s home lies a narrow green space that stretches toward an apartment complex.
Though the front of the complex is developed, the back is overgrown and littered with unfinished construction.
A chain-link fence separates the apartments from the untamed area, where multiple uncovered manholes were discovered.
The manhole where Montesdeoca was found, uncovered, was located on the apartment property.
Stephanie Lopez’s husband shared that the person who found her had to clear away tall grass to spot the body.
The family has no idea why Montesdeoca ended up in that area, as she wasn’t known to go there.
Since her death, "Do Not Enter" and "Private Property" signs have been put up.
Additionally, the manhole has finally been covered.
Lopez expressed her frustration, saying, "No one cares until something terrible happens."
During their search for Montesdeoca, the family also came across an unfinished pool with a stranded dog at the bottom.
They rescued the dog, naming him Joseph in honor of Montesdeoca, who loved animals.
As of now, the medical examiner has yet to determine the official cause or manner of death.
The family has been told it could take months for answers.
Meanwhile, ABC13 is investigating who is responsible for the uncovered manhole.
In another case, investigators have confirmed that skeletal remains found in a wooded area of Missouri City, Texas, belong to Karen Miles.
She was a 61-year-old woman who had been missing for about three weeks.
Click here for more details.
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