Missing 7-year-old boy found dead in washing machine

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — An investigation is underway into a young boy’s death after he was found in a washing machine hours after he was reported missing.

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The Harris County Constable announced that 7-year-old Troy Khoeler was missing in a social media post Thursday morning. The Twitter post, which has a timestamp of 7:27 a.m., said Khoeler had been missing for approximately 2-3 hours.

Troy was found in a top-load washing machine inside the garage of the home where he lived, KHOU reported. Investigators at the scene did not say whether there was water or clothing inside the machine, or whether the lid was closed when Troy was found.

“Whether he was killed by the washing machine or killed and placed in it, we’re just so far from that, I can’t comment,” Lt. Robert Minchew, with the Harris County Sheriff’s office homicide unit, told KHOU.

Minchew told KPRC that the boy’s parents were questioned, which is standard procedure. Minchew told the station that Troy was a foster child in the home previously and was adopted in 2019. No other children live in the home.

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