A 7-year-old Texas boy who was reported missing by his parents was found dead in a washing machine two hours later, authorities say.
On Thursday at 5:20 a.m., Troy Khoeler’s parents filed a missing person report, Lt. Robert Minchew of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit confirmed during a press conference.
When officers arrived on the scene, they “did a brief interview for the missing person report” with Troy’s parents, Minchew added. “Things that they observed led them to search the house thoroughly at that point. They found a deceased 7-year-old child in the washing machine in the garage.”
He said Troy was found at 7:20 a.m.
The homicide unit was then called to the home to investigate, and the child’s parents were “separated and detained, which is standard procedure,” Minchew continued.
According to authorities, the child was a foster child whom the parents possibly adopted in 2019. Authorities are working to determine if he was ever officially adopted.
When asked what prompted the search of the home, Minchew said it was “standard police procedure,” adding, “It was early in the morning, there was no indication that the door had been opened, or a window opened. After searching the neighborhood, they were unable to find the child. So the next logical step, I believe, is to search the house.”
It remains unclear if the child got into the washing machine on his own. Minchew said he “could not comment” on any potential foul play, and so far, no arrests have been made, PEOPLE reported.
“It’s obviously a traumatic situation for the family and anybody involved. It’s just more conducive to get them away from the house,” Minchew said of Troy’s parents.
Authorities are now waiting on the medical examiner’s office to determine Troy’s official cause of death. He was clothed when found in the top-loading washing machine.
Minchew could not say if its door was closed or open.
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