Neighbors believe they were overcome by carbon monoxide.
SAN ANTONIO — While officials have not released the names of the two people found dead in a tent last weekend, others who live in the encampment near I-10 and South Gevers Street are talking about the trauma of finding their friends dead under suspicious circumstances.
One resident of the camp said the man they called Mo was well known in the area.
“We see him every day and all of a sudden we didn’t see him,” one woman said, adding she thought the cold had chased the man inside. “I thought he got his check and went in a motel and we didn’t think nothing of it.”
But as the days passed and they didn’t see any activity at the site, neighbors said they began to worry.
Several residents of the camp said the victims, who officials believe are a 62-year-old man and 45-year old woman, who were found dead Saturday had only recently moved in, after they had been evicted from a nearby home.
“They were intelligent people so it don’t make no sense. They were not dumb,” the woman said.
One man said unlike many other people who pass through the area, these two seemed like ordinary people who had just fallen on hard times.
“They didn’t do drugs like that. They weren’t out here like that. No. It couldn’t have been an overdose,” the man said, pointing out that the couple’s two dogs were found dead as well.
One man said the woman was very devoted to her dogs.
“She loved those dogs. She was always with those dogs,” he said.
The neighbors believe the people and their dogs were overcome by carbon monoxide because in an effort to keep warm, they covered their tent and their campsite with a giant tarp that had only one small draft point.
“It’s just the tarp. I think it’s the tarp and it’s a freak accident. It could have happened to anybody. It could have happened to anybody!” the man said, adding that they realized something was badly wrong when the campsite started to smell bad.
“We both knew in our hearts something bad happened in there but nobody wants to go check and when he went and checked he ran back and said it’s her! It’s her,” the man said about his friend, who checked the tent.
The friends said they immediately called for first responders but it was far too late to save the couple.
The man said officials removed the bodies from the site, but did nothing else to remediate the site.
Four days after the disturbing discovery, a stench hangs in the air and flies are infesting the personal property left behind.
“It’s disturbing and they left it like that. Wide open. They removed them and that was it,” the man said.
The medical examiner says they have not positively identified either body and they have not contacted next of kin.
Without a cause and manner of death established, police are not able to comment on a possible investigation.
With more cold weather on the horizon, the people in the camp said they are concerned that the tragedy could repeat itself as people try to stay warm.
The city does have a Homeless Connections Hotline. It operates weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. That number is 210-207-1799.
Additional resources to help people experiencing homelessness can be found here.