Man in underwear leads police to house with 29 other kidnapping victims, Texas cops say

Dozens of nearly-naked kidnapping victims were found in a boarded up home Thursday, according to Houston police.

Houston officers were called to a neighborhood Thursday night after a report “of a male in his briefs running down the street yelling he had been kidnapped,” the police department wrote in a Twitter post.

The victim told officers around 30 other people were being held against their will inside a nearby home, police said.

Officers found dozens of men and one female — all a part of a human smuggling operation, according to police. Police initially said 26 victims were found, but KPRC and KHOU reported the number had been increased to 29 by Friday.

The victims told officers they were picked up near the Mexico border and came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba, KTRK reported.

Like the man who had escaped, they all were found in their underwear, according to KHOU. The one female found may be a minor, KHOU reported.

Police said a nearby school gym was opened to house the victims. Neighbors in the area have provided clothing for them, KPRC reported.

The Department of Homeland Security is assisting with the investigation, police said.

Three people, possibly “hired to smuggle people into the United States,” were taken into custody, KPRC reported.

This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Man in underwear leads police to house with 29 other kidnapping victims, Texas cops say."