LAREDO, Texas (AP) — A welfare check by police to a house overgrown with weeds and other plants revealed the decomposing body of an elderly man — and a makeshift coffin containing remains officials believe to be those of his mother.

The Laredo Morning Times reports the gruesome find was made late Monday at a house in the South Texas border city of Laredo. First responders say the man appeared to be in his 70s. Neighbors say they hadn't seen him for a week.

A search turned up the makeshift wooden coffin. Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza says investigators can't confirm the remains are those of...