Houston family seeks closure after finding relative's remains
CYPRESS, Texas - The discovery of skeletal remains near a Pond in Cypress has left a Houston family desperate for answers regarding the death of their relative, Joann Montgomery Osagiede.
The remains were confirmed to be those of the 63-year-old who had been missing since August 29, 2023, heightening the family’s tragic loss.
Osagiede was last seen displaying dementia-like symptoms and may have been disoriented at the time of her disappearance. Despite extensive searches, hope turned to despair when remains were located on April 24, authorities confirmed.
Fresha Montgomery, the daughter of the deceased, expressed her unresolved grief. "I thought she was going to come home to us. I never thought she was going to be found like that," she said.
The family, having had no prior closure, is riddled with questions about her disappearance and death. "The truth, let us know. How did she pass. How did the events lead to turn out the way it did?" asked Freddy Montgomery, her son.
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As they navigate their mourning, the family is troubled by the lack of communication from authorities and agonized over not having been able to provide Montgomery with the medical treatment she needed for her symptoms – which she refused despite the family history of dementia.
"She used to tell me it’s not me, it don’t feel like me no more. I want to be dead. This is not my body. I don’t want to be in this body no more," Fresha Montogmery said.
Given the state of the remains, the family is also facing the heart-wrenching reality that a traditional funeral is not possible. "She didn't have skin... she was just bones and we can't even have a proper burial for her, we don’t know the cause of death, we don't know how long she had been deceased," said Tamesha Ellis, Montgomery’s niece.
They remember Montgomery as a loving and selfless person and hope that by speaking out, they can find the closure they yearn for.