Man in Underwear Leads Police to 26 People Being Held Hostage In Houston

Houston police say they rescued 26 people clad only in their underwear from a boarded-up house Thursday night where they were allegedly held hostage in a human smuggling operation. Neighbors called 911 after a nearly naked man was seen running down the street shouting that he had been kidnapped, authorities said. He also banged on doors and begged, in Spanish, for the police to be summoned.

The distraught man led officers to a locked home with boarded-up windows, police said. Inside, cops found the three-bedroom house teeming with people in their undergarments. One man had fallen through the home's attic and had minor injuries.

During questioning, the people said they had been held against their will after being picked up in the Texas border town of Brownsville, police said. They had been held in the home for up to a week, authorities said.