(WHDH) — A Texas man who was presumed missing for months was consumed by his pack of dogs, authorities announced Tuesday.
The Cleburne Times-Review reports a medical examiner positively identified found bones as human and DNA testing identified them as belonging to 57-year-old Freddie Mack, of Venus, who had not been seen or heard from since April.
“It was found that Freddie suffered from serious medical conditions so we will never know if the dogs killed Mr. Mack or consumed him after he died from a medical condition,” Johnson County Sheriff Adam King said via the news outlet. “Either way, it is a very gruesome event.”
Deputies were first called to Mack’s home in May for a welfare check after family members said they were unable to get to a trailer where he lived due to the presence of 18 aggressive dogs, according to the report.
After setting up distractions to keep the dogs away, deputies gained access to Mack’s trailer and determined he was missing.
When an official missing person report was filed on May 10, his family told investigators that it was unlike him to leave his animals and detectives started feeding the dogs.
Five days later, a bone was found during a feeding, prompting detectives to seize all of the dogs and request a search warrant.
A thorough search of the property uncovered additional bone fragments, strips of clothing, suspected human hair, and animal feces containing pieces of bones.
Nearly all of the dogs were put down, given evidence indicating that they consumed Mack, officials said.
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