Child's skeletal remains and three apparently abandoned siblings found in Houston apartment, sheriff says

The skeletal remains of a child, and three surviving siblings who appear to have been abandoned, were found inside an apartment in the Houston area, a sheriff said.

One of the children, a 15-year-old, called the Harris County Sheriff's Office on Sunday afternoon and told authorities his 9-year-old brother had been dead for a year and the body was inside the apartment, the office said in a statement.

Deputies responded and found the teen and two other siblings ages 10 and 7 living alone in the apartment, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters. The other child's skeletal remains were also located.