A 'mystery woman' who prompted a search after ringing doorbells in Texas has been identified.

A video widely shared online showed an unknown woman - partially dressed and appearing to have broken restraints on her arms - approaching a doorbell and ringing it before leaving the scene.

Residents in the area alerted police after the incident, with officers now saying she's believed to be a victim of domestic violence.

In a statement, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said they made a welfare call to a house on Thursday morning amid concerns over a man's well-being.

They arrived at the scene, but received no answer.

After forcing entry into the house 'due to the circumstances', they found a 49-year-old man's body.

Local media reported that the man is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

They confirmed that the man's girlfriend - a 32-year-old woman - was the person seen in the doorbell video.

Lieutenant Scott Spencer said: "Due to the female's status as a family violence victim, the female's identity can not be released at this time.

"The female is confirmed to be safe and with family."

In comments quoted by ABC 13, Deputy Spencer added: "There's some issues obviously with the video surveillance, why she was wearing those restraints and the circumstances surrounding it.

"We only have one side of a story right now,"

Police say they'll meet with the woman as part of their investigation into the case.