HOUSTON – A body found near railroad tracks in southeast Houston Tuesday is that of a missing teen, according to his mother.
Investigators said Christina Roberts, the mother of 16-year-old Ryan Roberts, called police after her son went missing on Friday. She said the last text she shared with her son was when he told her he was going to be late coming home because he had a substitute bus driver.
"My child is gone. He wanted to be a chef. That dream is gone," Christina Roberts said.
The story is every bit as close to home as it gets for Roberts, as her son's body was found minutes from her apartment.
"Last night a tip came in to the mother saying that a body is located in this wooded area near the 4600 block of Holmes Road underneath the 610 overpass," Lt. John Zitzmann, homicide investigator with the Houston Police Department, said.
The person Christina Roberts thinks did it was close with her son.
"What's crazy is this child knew where my child's body was, knew that he had killed my child Friday," she said. "Friday night he sat here in my face was helping me look for my child."
Roberts said a neighbor came forward and told her a relative of his had committed the crime.
"When I went by his house yesterday, he just looked at me with a blank stare like there was nobody home," Christina Roberts said.
The neighbor also told her where her son's body might be.
The mother contacted Texas EquuSearch, and during a search, volunteers with the organization found a body in the 4100 block of Holmes Road, under the South Loop Freeway.
"I've been doing this for 16 years and it never gets any easier," Tim Miller, director of EquuSearch, said.
Christina Roberts said the body is that of her son. However, police have not confirmed the identity of the person found.
"All this time my son's been right here in my backyard, dead," she said. "My son's a loving child. He helped everybody, loved everybody."
Homicide detectives with the Houston Police Department are investigating the case. So far, no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.