An investigation is underway after officials discovered the decomposed body of a woman inside the basement of a South Philadelphia home.
Officers with the Sheriff’s department were searching through a home on the 2100 block of Porter Street in the Girard Estates neighborhood at 5:10 p.m. Thursday. Investigators said they were serving a robbery warrant but also received a tip about a possible case of human trafficking related to a missing 18-year-old woman.
As the officers searched through the home, they found the badly decomposed body of a young woman inside a plastic container in the basement. Police initially said she had been partially dismembered, but later said that was not the case.
Investigators have not yet revealed a cause of death or confirmed if the body is that of the missing woman.
"We have a deceased female, possibly that age. But she's a Jane Doe until she's identified," Sheriff Rochelle Bilal told NBC10.
At least one person was arrested in relation to the robbery charge. Police also took five people into custody for questioning.
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10 Girard Estates is a normally quiet community.
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"I've been here for 30 years and never nothing like this," the neighbor said. "I'm dumbfounded."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Department.
