http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/07/14/mo.motel.body.ap/index.html

Body found under motel room mattress

Tuesday, July 15, 2003 Posted: 3:42 AM EDT (0742 GMT)

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- After a motel guest complained for three days about a foul odor in his room, the cleaning crew found a man's body hidden under the bed, police said.

The guest started complaining about the smell when he checked in Thursday at the Capri Motel, just east of downtown Kansas City, police Capt. Rich Lockhart said in a statement.

Management told the man nothing could be done about the odor, and he finally checked out Sunday, saying he could no longer tolerate the smell, Lockhart said.

Police were called Sunday when the cleaning staff lifted the mattress on the only bed in the room and found the body, which had been concealed by the wooden panels around the base of the bed.

The remains had not been identified. No arrests had been made, police Sgt. Darin Snapp said Monday.

Lockhart said the body's advanced stage of decomposition suggested it had been in the room for several days.

The Capri has been closed down several times for codes violations and has been the site of several drug busts, Snapp said.

Maybe he was the boogey man and simply got stuck and could not get out. That story will keep the kids from hanging an arm over the side of the bed at bedtime.