A family friend felt called to search Houston streets and homeless camps for hours. What she found became a small piece of closure in a case that remains unsolved.

HOUSTON — The family of a man found hanging and burned beneath a Houston overpass late last month is pleading for answers as police continue to investigate the mysterious death.

Jeremy Carnes was discovered on Oct. 24 under an overpass in the Settegast area. Houston police said his body had been set on fire and that foul play was suspected. Nearly two weeks later, investigators have not announced any arrests or shared new details about what may have happened.

“It was a gut-wrenching rage that somebody did that to my brother,” said Carnes’ sister, Commilla Kidd.

Carnes, who had experienced homelessness for years, was known in the neighborhood near a Valero gas station as a kind man often seen with his dog, Cross.

That dog became a focus of the family’s search for closure in the days after his death. Family friend Shastie Morris said she felt called to help find the missing pup.

“I thought, man, I hope someone finds that dog,” Morris said. “And God said to me, ‘You. You don’t have anything to do. Today’s your day off.’”

After searching streets and homeless camps for hours, Morris found Cross with another man who said Carnes had asked him to look after the dog.

“Jeremy had told him to watch the dog when he went to work in a truck — and Jeremy never came back,” Morris said.

Kidd drove from Kansas to Houston this week to retrieve Cross. The dog will soon go to Carnes’ 22-year-old daughter as a keepsake to remember her father.

“He named her Cross because a man once gave Jeremy a penny with a cross cut into it and told him, ‘Keep this with you and stay safe,’” Kidd said.

While the search for Cross ended in relief, the investigation into Carnes’ death remains open. His family says they won’t stop seeking justice.

“We still have no answers as to what happened to Jeremy,” Kidd said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Houston Police Department or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

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