This browser does not support the Video element.
This browser does not support the Video element.
ANNA, Texas - The discovery of human remains in Collin County is casting new attention on the kidnapping and suspected murder of Christina Morris.
Police are investigating the discovery of a body in an area where new homes are being built in Anna. Construction workers said they found the human remains Wednesday in an area near Black Willow Trail and Taylor Boulevard.
Andy Mitchell and his brother were part of the crew clearing brush from the swath of land when something got his attention.
“You could just see really up on the hillside over there up in a little opening, there was a skull laying there,” he said.
Mitchell said the skull was near what appeared to be a woman’s dress and undergarments.
“You hope the family has closure,” Mitchell said. “My first instinct was to pray for the individual and hope that they are Christian and that they are home.”
The remains were found in an area where authorities searched extensively for Morris after she disappeared on August 30, 2014. She was last seen with a one-time acquaintance, Enrique Arochi, leaving the Shops at Legacy in Plano.
Arochi is now serving a life sentence for her kidnapping. Prosecutors said her DNA was in the trunk of his car, but he has denied any wrongdoing.
During the trial, cell phone and tower data indicated Arochi was in and around the Anna area after Morris disappeared. The area was repeatedly searched.
Plano police confirmed Morris' parents were notified about the discovery just in case.
"Our family has been notified, but nothing has been confirmed. Please keep Christina and our family in your thoughts and prayers,” her family said in a statement released on social media.
Lekita McMillan lives in the area where the remains were discovered. She remembers the search for Morris in 2014.
"Lots of helicopters, very strong state trooper presence,” she recalled. “I feel heartbroken. I can't imagine what the family is going through."
Like so many in North Texas, McMillan has followed Morris' case.
"I feel their grief,” she said. “So that's why I'm here trying to organize a candlelight vigil."
Investigators with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Anna Police Department and Plano Police Department are expected to return to the scene Thursday to continue collecting evidence.
Lt. Nick Bristow with the sheriff's office said the remains were transferred to the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office for a positive identification.
FOX 4 is on YouTube -- http://bit.ly/fox4subscribe