SAN ANTONIO — Months into the search for a young New Braunfels man who disappeared in Corpus Christi, where he was attending college, his loved ones may now be one step nearer to closure.
On Wednesday evening, the Corpus Christi Police Department shared on Facebook that human remains discovered at a wastewater treatment facility near where 21-year-old Caleb Harris was last seen "most likely" belong to him.
"The remains will be returned to the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, which will then issue the final autopsy report," the police department said in its post.
Authorities said the remains, discovered by city employees in a wastewater collection area of the Greenwood Wastewater Treatment Plant on June 24, carried "no obvious signs of homicide" when they were transported to a lab in Fort Worth, where further DNA testing was conducted.
Harris' mother reacted to the development on Facebook, writing: "We will grieve our son, but we are at peace knowing he is with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
It remains unclear what happened to Harris on the night he disappeared after his phone shared its last location with a nearby cell phone tower at 3:12 a.m.
The case sparked weeks and weeks of searching. Detectives traveled to San Antonio and New Braunfels to find leads, and loved ones told KENS 5 that dozens of tips came in.
But the investigation missed the one crucial clue until workers stumbled on the remains in June, in a collection point about 40 feet deep. Now, there are still questions that remain unanswered, including how Harris' body got to the wastewater plant.
According to Corpus Christi Police Deputy Chief Billy Breedlove, authorities received a tip on April 18 about a manhole cover missing in a farm field 600 feet away from Harris' department. After draining that well, nothing was found.
That would change in late June, when there was a jam in the well's lift pump believed to have been caused by a human bone.
"The likely scenario was that those remains were in a 15-inch sewage pipe," Breedlove said. "And the rain from Tropical Storm Alberto, it was just a couple of days before that discovery. (It) pushed those remains through the system and ended up in that location."
But investigators still don't have a cause or manner of death, and police say that's likely going to remain undetermined. The reason: a lack of indications of foul play, possibly exacerbated by the fact the body was so decomposed.
Corpus Christi police say the investigation into Harris' death remains open. Anyone with information is urged to contact the agency at (361) 826-2840; tips can also be anonymously submitted at 888-8477.
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