Kids stumble upon body in N Philly

A group of neighborhood kids out enjoying the balmy weather tonight found an unwelcome sight: A corpse abandoned in a secluded alley.

Just after 6 p.m., officers responding to the witness' report found the body, on 11th Street near Huntingdon in North Philadelphia, wrapped in a red bedsheet that was secured with duct tape, Chief Inspector Scott Small said. Medical personnel declared the person dead about a half-hour later.

The age, race and gender of the person is unknown; all investigators could see on scene were the feet, clad in Converse sneakers and sticking out the bottom of the sheet.

Because the corpse was covered, it's also unclear how the individual was killed, Small said. Given the condition of its wrappings, in light of the heavy rains that blanketed the region into yesterday morning, it didn't appear that the body had been sitting in the lot more than a day, Small said.

Police believe someone carried the body and dumped it into the alley, a narrow, debris-strewn walkway connecting Huntingdon and Warnock streets.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.