SAN JOSE, Calif., May 24 (UPI) -- Police believe a body found in a derelict backyard hot tub is that of a woman who had fled from a hit-and-run traffic accident in the San Jose neighborhood three weeks earlier.
A contractor discovered the body late Thursday when he opened the lid of the tub, which hadn't been used for an extended period of time.
"I don't know if it's airtight, but it seems to have a suction affect," police spokesman Joseph Deras told the San Jose Mercury News. "If you're inside, I don't know if you can get out."
An autopsy on the body was scheduled for Friday.
While the body has not been identified, police suspect it is that of one of two women who had fled on foot through the neighborhood on May 5 after a hit-and-run traffic accident.
The California Highway Patrol told the Mercury News its officers searched the area at the time, but probably did not go into the backyard because of a "beware of dog" sign on the fence.
Deras said investigators theorized that the unidentified woman might have climbed into the tub to hide and was unable to get the lid back off. Deras noted, however, that it had taken two police officers to open the lid.
