Human remains found in basement of home in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia
The home has been the focus of a police investigation this week.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Authorities have uncovered human remains from the basement of a home in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia.
The home, in the 5200 block of Burton Street, has been the focus of a police investigation this week.
Police tell Action News that bone fragments from a human foot were uncovered about four feet under the concrete on Thursday.
However, work to uncover more remains was hindered after the basement flooded due to Thursday and Friday's heavy rain. Crews had to pump water out.
The captain of the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit and the head of the Office of Forensic Science both arrived to the home Friday.
The search began earlier this week after investigators got a tip that a woman's body was buried in the basement.
Neighbors tell Action News they haven't seen the residents that lived in the home for a while.
"The girl has been missing eight years," said one neighbor who identified himself as Art. "The family was in and out of there all the time. At least they finally found her."
Investigators were met with a hoarding situation when they went to check out the tip.
In order to check on the validity of those claims, the Department of Licenses and Inspections had to clear out the home of debris.
Action News was there on Wednesday as three dumpsters full of garbage and discarded belongings were carried out of the row home.
"It smelled like a rotten egg odor out here," a woman who lives a few doors down told Action News this week. "It's scary. I don't know what happened in that house."
Two kittens in the home were also rescued Friday, and good Samaritans who brought them to the PSPCA have returned to get several more kittens out safely.
