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Human remains found buried beneath newly replaced floor in Louisiana home, cops say

Officers said they got a tip that human remains may be in the unoccupied home. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Officers said they got a tip that human remains may be in the unoccupied home. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) AP

A tip to a police department in Louisiana led officers to human remains under their feet.

The Amite Police Department received information on June 24 that human remains may be under a house on South Third Street, according to a news release.

Officers arrived at the unoccupied home with a search warrant and noticed the floor had been replaced recently, the release said.

When investigators pried off the floor and dug below, they found “possible human remains,” the release said. The remains were sent to the Tangipahoa Parish Coroner’s Office for identification.

After discovering the remains, officers arrested Amite resident Joanna Phelps, who faces charges of principal to first-degree murder and failure to report the commission of certain felonies, according to the news release. Phelps was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail.

Officers did not give more information on the case and said the investigation is ongoing.

Amite is about 63 miles northeast of Baton Rogue.

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This story was originally published June 27, 2022 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Human remains found buried beneath newly replaced floor in Louisiana home, cops say."

Alison Cutler
mcclatchy-newsroom
Alison Cutler is a National Real Time Reporter for the Southeast at McClatchy. She graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and previously worked for The News Leader in Staunton, VA, a branch of USAToday.
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