UPDATE: Police identify father and daughter found dead in cold Niles home

The search for answers is on after a father and his adult daughter were found dead in a house in Niles.

"I called the police, asked them if they would come do a welfare check. They’ll force a door if they need to, and I won't," said Glenn Johnson, the neighbor who called 911 on Wednesday night.

Johnson tells NewsCenter 16 he hadn't seen the elderly man and middle-aged daughter in more than a week.

"Wished I’d seen something sooner. Kind of feels empty when it's too late," he lamented.

Police responded to Johnson's request for a welfare check in the 600 block of Woodruff at 5:42 p.m. Wednesday night.

When officers arrived, they found two deceased adults inside the home. Police have identified them as 81-year-old Albert Bivins and his daughter, 55-year-old Patricia Bivins.

According to police, autopsies have been conducted on both Albert and Patricia. However, the cause and time of death still have yet to be determined. Police will be notified of lab results within two weeks.

Police say the temperature in the house was well below 32 degrees.

There were outward signs that something was wrong. The mail was piling up, and so was the snow on the family car in the driveway.

“I’ve been on this street for 52 years we always thought that we kept a good eye on everybody,” Zecklin said.

Neighbors say the daughter was handicapped and that her father used to take her on trips to the store every day or so to get her a liter of pop. Johnson, who called for the welfare check, used to snow-blow and mow for Albert Bivins, whom he described as quiet and reserved.

"He was thankful, would thank me profusely for my help," added Johnson.

“We really don’t have a good idea of exactly what happened or why they might have died but we’re looking into things such as carbon monoxide,” said Capt. Kevin Kosten with the Niles Police Department. "The house was cold so the temperature inside the house, but we’ll know a lot more once we get the autopsies.”

Capt. Kosten further noted that “the gas was on, there were some gas appliances in the house that were working you know, the lights were on, but we’re not exactly sure exactly what happened but it was very cold in the house at the time we went in.”

The Niles Police Department will continue to investigate the incident.