Dennis Zent, 58, left Houston for a quieter life in the Newton County hills but vanished from his home near Pelsor after a welfare check on December 4, 2014. Deputies found his house unsecured and his animal still tied out, and the sheriff asked the community for help. His daughter later said she did not request the welfare check and first learned he was missing from an aunt, a discrepancy that unsettled the family.

In mid-July 2015 a hunter in the Lurton area discovered human remains. Multiple agencies recovered scattered remains from rugged terrain; officials withheld a name until laboratory confirmation. Obituaries and memorial notices list July 2015 as the month of his death, though specific dates differ. The death certificate reportedly lists cause of death as unknown because so little remained to examine.

His daughter believes he was murdered and dismembered to conceal the crime and says local talk points to a particular person, though no arrest or public charging has been reported. The case is described as cold but open, and the family has sought records through a Freedom of Information Act request that produced only limited material.

If anyone knew Dennis, his routines, or saw suspicious activity near Pelsor or Lurton in late 2014, please share what was seen or heard.