Body of man found at NW Harris County park identified

HOUSTON – Authorities have identified the man's body who was found at a northwest Harris County park.

The body of 20-year-old Nicholas Burke was found Wednesday afternoon at Hatfield Park in the 12400 block of Telge Road near Pleasant Grove.

Burke's body was found by volunteers with Texas EquuSearch who were in the park looking for a missing Spring man. Tommy Lee Lowery, 68, walked away from a care facility on November 4.

The volunteers decided to check the park after one of them noticed vultures circling a wooded area near Cypress Creek on Tuesday.

"We started to search at 12:15. At 12:45 I received a call our foot search team had located the remains of a male that was deceased in the woods," said Frank Black with EquuSearch.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said it appears Burke was shot to death. He appeared to have been shot at least five times, and county detectives estimated he had been dead less than 12 hours when his body was found.

"We do have somebody who heard gunshots around 9:30 last night. We don't know if that's going to be related. It is hunting season and there's a lot of wooded area out here where people could be hunting or just shooting," said Sgt. Ben Bell with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Anyone with information about this case should contact the sheriff's office at 713-967-5810 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

Meanwhile, the search for Mr. Lowery continues. Click here for more information.