A Texas man who was reported missing after his family hadn’t seen or heard from him since April was believed to have been killed and eaten by more than a dozen of his dogs.
On May 6, Johnson County deputies responded to a call requesting a welfare check on 57-year-old Freddie Mack. Family told deputies Mack was reclusive and hadn’t been seen or heard from since April 19, CBS News, the Cleburne Times-Review and Bluefield Daily Paragraph.
They told deputies they had tried to check on their loved one, who often called them for rides to the store, but were unable to get to his trailer home because of 18 aggressive dogs.
Upon arrival at Mack’s property in Venus, deputies were confronted by the dogs. They were unable to get close to the trailer home and decided try again three days later.
When deputies were again unable to reach the home, they launched a drone to fly over the property, but there was no sign of Mack. The following day he was listed as a missing person.
During additional searches of Mack’s property, deputies found small pieces of bone and bone fragments. However, deputies still had to conduct a thorough search and on May 19 they seized 16 dogs. The search led them to find strips of cloth, animal feces containing fabric, bone fragments and human hair.
It was unlike Mack to leave his dogs and he “was known to wear a single set of clothing and did not own any other sets,” those who knew him told authorities.
The search for Mack took a dark turn when investigators learned that the fabric found in the dog feces matched the description of Mack’s clothing.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities began to realize that the 57-year-old could have been killed and eaten by his dogs.
“During the course of our investigation it was found that Freddie suffered from serious medical conditions so we will never know if the dogs killed Mr. Mack or consumed him after he died from a medical condition,” Sheriff Adam King said, the Times-Review reports.
“Either way, it is a very gruesome event and we extend our sympathy to Freddie Mack’s family.”
On July 9, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that two pieces of bone found by investigators belonged to Mack.
Due to their aggressive nature and belief that they killed their owner, 13 of the 16 seized dogs were put down. Officials said the other two dogs from the original 18 on Mack’s property were killed by the other dogs before authorities could seize them.
