Update: 5:30 p.m. -- St. Cloud Police have announced that significant evidence suggests that the person found in the backyard of 819 Carolina Ave. in St. Cloud to be 16-year-old Ashley Nicole Jung, with confirmation of the identity pending DNA results. Jung was reported and listed as a missing person out of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.   

By Fallan Patterson

Staff Writer

The house at 819 Carolina Ave. in St. Cloud is vacant, with a slightly overgrown yard, unkempt trees and boards covering some of its windows. The house is where the remains of what appeared to be a female were discovered Thursday evening in the backyard by a neighbor, St. Cloud police said

The neighbor had recently purchased a riding lawnmower and planned to tidy up the vacant yard, Sgt. Kirk Zilke, spokesman for the St. Cloud Police Department, said.

In response to the neighbor's call, police responded to the home at approximately 8:15 p.m. and after seeing the remains, started an investigation.

The two-bedroom, one-bath house, built in 1925, is owned by Hughette Crumpler, of Kissimmee, according to Osceola County Property Appraiser records. The backyard is enclosed by a weathered, 6-foot-tall wooden fence with faded “Beware of Dog” signs and includes a large, cement wall garage with a short, concrete driveway and a metal shed with a rusted lock on the sliding doors.

According to neighbor Larry Linton, at 901 Carolina Ave., the home has been vacant for at least four months.

“It's been stinking for a while here; it smelled like something dead,” he said. “I didn't think it was a dead body; I thought it was a stray cat. It's weird, I feel unsafe in St. Cloud.”

Linton, who moved to St. Cloud from Detroit in March, said the smell was prominent during a Memorial Day barbecue at his home with family and friends.

Zilke stressed residents should call police for anything out of the ordinary, including odors.

“Normally, if they smell a strong, suspicious odor, they should call,” Zilke said, adding no calls were made in reference to a smell on Carolina Avenue. “If they call us, we're going to investigate.”

Authorities are seeking additional information from neighbors and at noon had not sent out any press release on the identity of the person.

There are no active missing persons cases in St. Cloud at this time, Zilke said.

Check back for updates by visiting www.aroundosceola.com.