A large police presence -- including investigators from Alexandria, Va. -- responded to a report of a body in a well in Prince George’s County, Md., Thursday afternoon.
A body was found in the 20-foot well behind an apparently abandoned home in the 11900 block of Old Fort Road following an anonymous tip just after noon, News4's Jackie Bensen reported. Authorities confirmed the human body with a camera sent down the well, but age, sex and race of the person are undetermined.
The recovery of the body will be a challenge, said Julie Parker, of Prince George's County police. They need to excavate around the well and and trying to prevent against a well collapse. They also must determine if any underground utilities are near the well.
Excavation will begin Saturday after sunrise. Authorities expect to have the body removed from the well by Sunday evening.
Homicide investigators went to the scene, but so far it remains a death investigation in its early stages.
Investigators from Alexandria, where community activist Lenwood “Lenny” Harris disappeared, went to the scene, Bensen reported. After he disappeared in September, Harris’s phone was found on the Wilson Bridge, not far from the well. His car was found abandoned in October in Prince George’s County.
Police suspect foul play in the disappearance of Harris. Surveillance cameras show someone using his credit card since his disappearance.
Harris was known as an advocate for the underprivileged. He was a regular at recreation centers where he would help find tutors for children.
He was last seen at an Alexandria recreation center the evening of Sept. 21.
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