Man charged with concealing remains after body found outside Maple Shade hotel

A man has been charged with concealing the remains of a woman who was reported missing from Philadelphia and found dead in a car outside a Maple Shade hotel.

The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said 41-year-old Jesus Garcia, of Philadelphia, is being charged with second-degree concealment of human remains.

The investigation that led to the charge began when a 38-year-old woman's mother reported her missing to Philadelphia police, said Officer Tanya Little, a Philadelphia police spokeswoman.

Investigators tracked her vehicle to the Maple Shade hotel, a Quality Inn on the 500 block of Route 38.

Prosecutors said the woman's body was found inside the trunk of a vehicle in the hotel parking lot. Television news footage this morning showed officers examining a white, four-door sedan outside the Quality Inn.

Authorities said officers found Garcia, of Philadelphia, at the Quality Inn and in possession of the vehicle at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday. He was taken into custody for questioning, was charged and was being held on $150,000 bail at the Burlington County Jail, prosecutors said this afternoon.

The woman found in the trunk of the vehicle hasn't been identified and officials are working to determine how, when and where she died, prosecutors said.

The Burlington County Medical Examiner's Office is performing an autopsy today.

Investigators are continuing to probe whether and where any foul play occurred.