A group of siblings found the human remains, those of a male adult, while walking their dog near New Hope Road and Rogers Lane. They smelled a foul odor that led them to the discovery.
"I was about 15, 10, -- 15 yards away from it, and if I had gone any closer, I might have passed out or something," said Lauren Harris, 20.
Harris said she immediately called her mother, who then called 911.
"His shirt was ripped open," said Brian Harris, 18, who also saw the body. "I saw his torso, his stomach area and his arms, he was decomposing."
Raleigh police said the body had clearly been in the woods for some period of time, but have not publicly identified the man, pending the notification of his family.
Sources told WRAL on Tuesday that the man had been reported missing to the Wake County Sheriff's Office, but neither the police department nor sheriff's office would confirm.
"We can say at this point, we are treating the investigation as a homicide ... until we can determine with certainty what might have taken place," Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said.
Anyone with information that might be helpful to investigators is asked to contact the Raleigh Police Department at
919-890-3555
.
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