Human remains found during search for missing Philadelphia woman Kada Scott
Human remains of a woman have been found in the area where police have been searching for Kada Scott, 23, who went missing on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department John Stanford said on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The remains were found in a shallow grave in a wooded area behind the abandoned Ada H. Lewis Middle School near the Awbury Arboretum and appeared to be around a week old or less, Stanford said.
The remains have been sent to the medical examiner’s office to determine the identity, Stanford said.
Police began searching the area on Saturday, Oct. 18, near the abandoned school for Scott after receiving a “very specific” anonymous tip at around 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, Stanford said.
Police have previously searched the area of the school and the arboretum in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, but only said they had found some physical evidence without specifying what the evidence was.
Community members began gathering behind the crime scene tape at the search site on Saturday, where they voiced anger and frustration at police, who they say could have found the body sooner.
Many of the community members, as well as Scott’s family, were out searching everyday for Scott, including on Friday night in the area where the remains were found.
People who searched on Friday night say they found signs of a point of interest, such as fresh dirt and a strange smell.
“Sign number one, fresh dirt under a board,” one man who searched for Scott said. “So we begin to try to dig with our hands, and there’s maggots there under the ground, and there’s a strange smell coming from the ground.”
Stanford he understands people’s frustrations amid the tragic circumstances, but said he believes the department has done enough in the case.
“I’m not offended by some of the passion in some of the remarks that have been made as we walking back,” Stanford said. “I’m not offended at all by emotion, and this is an emotional situation. However, I know what we have done and the amount of hours that have been put into this process to try and locate Ms. Scott.”
In a statement on the disappearance of Scott, released on Saturday night, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said that the city would support Scott’s family in their time of need.
“There are no words that I can employ to remove the unimaginable pain and turmoil that the family of Kada Scott is experiencing with the tragic loss of their beloved daughter, sister and loved one,” the mayor said.
Stanford urged people with any information on Scott’s disappearance or on the suspect, Keon King, who has been charged with kidnapping in the case, to reach out to the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or anonymously online here.
Police believe there may still be other victims.
Timeline of Kada Scott’s disappearance
Kada Scott, 23, went missing on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. Scott’s family saw her around 9:45 p.m. that evening when she left their home along the 8300 block of Rodney Street in Philadelphia to head to her overnight shift at the Terrace at Chestnut Hill, a nursing home on East Abington Avenue.
Scott never finished her shift. Police said that she drove to work and parked her car there but she didn’t leave in her vehicle. The car was found by police in the parking lot of the nursing home after she was reported missing, officials said.
Prior to her disappearance, Scott had complained that someone had been harassing her through her phone, investigators said. Police said they haven’t seen any cellphone activity from Scott since she went missing.
On Oct. 10, investigators searched through the Awbury Arboretum on 1 Awbury Road in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood but didn’t find Scott.
Identifying an alleged suspect
As the investigation continued, police determined that 23-year-old Keon King of Dover, Delaware, was the last person to see Scott before her disappearance. King was then identified as the suspect in Scott’s kidnapping.
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, King surrendered to police. Police then announced King’s arrest during a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 15. They then released surveillance photos of King’s vehicle, a gold 1999 Toyota Camry which they believe Scott was inside at one point. Later on Wednesday, police responded to the abandoned Ada H. Lewis Middle School on the 6100 block of Ardleigh Street – which is located near the Awbury Arboretum – after receiving a tip. Police recovered a cellphone case outside the school, according to sources.
Then later Wednesday afternoon, police received another tip and responded to the Gypsy Lane Condominiums on the 4000 block of Gypsy Lane Wednesday afternoon. That’s where they found the Toyota Camry in the parking lot. Sources told NBC10 King has family members who live at the complex. Police towed the vehicle and searched through it but didn’t find Scott.
The disappearance of Kada Scott
What we know about Keon King
Keon King had a criminal record prior to his alleged involvement in Scott’s kidnapping. Investigators said King kidnapped and assaulted another victim earlier in the year.
Videos posted on social media showed a man – who investigators identified as King – hopping a fence and walking up to the window of a North Philadelphia home. The woman recording the video tells King to leave before telling another woman to call police, officials said. The video then shows King walking to the side of the home, peering into another window and trying to get inside, according to investigators.
The video was recorded earlier this year, about an hour before King allegedly kidnapped a woman, threw her in a car, assaulted her and then let her out of the vehicle. Investigators described that incident as “domestic” in nature. Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski told NBC10 that King’s 2-year-old child was in the backseat of the car during the incident.
“Ultimately when the complaining witness and eyewitness on that case stepped out of the property later that day is when the kidnapping occurred and he grabbed the victim, put her in the car, drove away and assaulted her,” she said.
While King was charged for that incident, the case was withdrawn in May 2025 because the victim didn’t show up in court, officials said.
“In this specific case what I can tell you is that after the first listing when the victim failed to appear, the case was marked what is called ‘must be tried.’ Which is a little bit of a court lingo but basically saying if it’s not tried by the next listing, it’ll either be dismissed or withdrawn,” Toczylowski said during a press conference on Wednesday. “It was marked that way after the first listing when she didn’t appear in court. And then at the second listing, when again we didn’t have the witness or the victim in court, it was at that point withdrawn given the previous marking.”
The charges against King in connection to the earlier kidnapping were refiled on Tuesday, Oct. 14, following his arrest in Scott’s disappearance, officials said.
NBC10 reached out to King’s attorney for comment. We will include a statement as soon as we receive one.
Scott’s family also created a GoFundMe to raise reward money for anyone with information on her whereabouts. As of Friday afternoon, the reward fund reached more than $11,514.
