Police: No Bodies Buried on Dean Drive

Amid macabre rumors swirling among residents of Dean Drive after police conducted an extensive search of a nearby wooded area on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) is saying that police actually didn't find much there.

"The search yielded nothing of import," said Julie Parker, PGPD communications director, in a Wednesday morning message to Patch. "We will be certain to share with our community, as we do consistently, any significant news."

A large team of police investigators, multiple search and rescue dogs and students in the Prince George's Police Academy participated in a search of the area, located just outside of Hyattsville in the 3600 block of Dean Drive, on Tuesday which began before 8 a.m. and went into the early evening. 

Parker said on Tuesday that the search was connected to an investigation into a previous death, but did not offer more specific details than that.

The rumors were stoked, in part, by questions area residents of the Toledo Terrace neighborhood say were posed to them by detectives canvassing the area as activity at the scene died down on Tuesday evening.

One resident, who lives a short distance from the area searched by investigators yesterday but who did not want to be identified, said that police asked a group of residents if they had smelled anything rotten in the area recently. 

The grim rumor swirling around the neighborhood and on social media yesterday was that one or more bodies had been found in the woods nearby.

It's a rumor which Parker said is just not true.

"Absolutely not," said Parker. "We would obviously share that with the media and the community.  The search has concluded at this time. Nothing was discovered in connection with a possible crime scene related to a death investigation from some time ago."

Residents said the woods are frequented by pedestrians, joggers, and truant high schoolers. The area is also thought to be frequented by members of local gangs, with residents reporting gang-affiliated graffiti a common site on trees in the woods.