Former Search Volunteers Hoping Remains Bring Morris Family Closure
ANNA, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Law enforcement in Collin County responded to a wooded area on Wednesday morning after the discovery of human remains. This happened shortly before 10:00 a.m. near the intersection of Taylor Boulevard and Black Willow Trail in Anna.
According to the Collin County Sheriff's Office, excavation workers were clearing brush in the area for a new housing development when they stumbled across the remains.
The workers then contacted the authorities. Nic Bristow with the Collin County Sheriff's Office said that investigators do not yet know if the remains are male or female.
The city of Anna released a statement that said:
"Having knowledge that Plano Police may have an interest in this finding, the Anna PD notified Plano Police investigators. We continue to work in conjunction with the Plano Police and the Collin County Sheriff's Office crime scene units to process the scene. This is an active scene; additional details will be released when available."
While the remains have not yet been identified, this is the same area that detectives had previously searched for missing North Texas woman Christina Morris. The Plano Police Department has arrived at the scene in case these remains turn out to belong to Morris, and her family has been notified about the discovery.
Morris' family released the following statement on Facebook:
"Our family has been notified, but nothing has been confirmed. Please keep Christina and our family in your thoughts and prayers. #FindChristina"
"If she's gone, we want this to be her," said search volunteer Dennis Abercrombie. "I don't know how else to put it, because the family needs this closure."
"We been with it from the beginning, we all like family. Team Christina," said fellow volunteer Rosie Ashenbrenner.
"We have had multiple calls of remains that were located. Haven't always gone out on all these type of calls, because they were often animal remains," explained David Tilley of the Plano Police Department. "We went on this one when we have confirmed these are human remains."
"In the event this is Christina, we want to make sure our people are on scene to investigate and help," Tilley continued.
Enrique Arochi was the last person seen with 23-year-old Morris before she vanished from a parking garage at The Shops at Legacy in Plano. The two had been former high school classmates. Cameras caught Arochi and Morris walking together inside of the parking structure in 2014.
After police found matching DNA samples in the trunk of Arochi's car, he was arrested for aggravated kidnapping. Arochi had denied having anything to do with the case. But a jury in 2016 found him guilty of the crime and Arochi was then sentenced by a judge to life in prison.
Investigators will continue processing the scene until it gets dark and then return to the scene Thursday to look for more evidence.
