Philadelphia police handling Kada Scott’s disappearance recover human remains behind middle school after Keon King’s arrest

Philadelphia police investigating the mysterious disappearance of beauty queen Kada Scott have found human remains – believed to be the missing 23-year-old – in a shallow grave behind an abandoned school.

Authorities made the gruesome discovery on the grounds of the shuttered Ada H. Lewis Middle School in the East Germantown neighborhood Saturday morning after a “very specific” anonymous tip came in the night before, according to ABC News.

“During a search of the property, investigators discovered a shallow grave and recovered human remains believed to be those of Kada Scott,” Philadelphia police told the outlet.

“This is a heartbreaking development, and our hearts go out to Kada’s family and loved ones during this extremely difficult time. The Philadelphia Police Department remains committed to uncovering the truth and ensuring justice is served.”

Friday’s information brought police to the property, which includes a large parking lot and a heavily wooded area that separates the former middle school, which closed in 2008, from Parkway Northwest High School, which is still open.

Investigators sifted through the brush and removed some debris to discover fresh dirt and a “strange odor.”

“Sign number one, fresh dirt under a board,” a man who participated in the discovery told NBC10 Philadelphia. “So we started trying to dig with our hands, and there are maggots under the ground, and a strange smell is coming from the ground.”

Police have not confirmed that the remains belonged to Scott while they await an official decision from the medical examiner’s office.

Scott, who represented Philadelphia Township in this year’s Miss Pennsylvania USA beauty pageant, disappeared shortly after leaving her job at The Terrace assisted living facility in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood around 9:30 p.m. on October 4.

The closed school’s campus is two miles southeast of where Scott worked.

She is believed to have met “an individual” after leaving the facility before going radio silent.

An earlier tip led police to the abandoned school Wednesday, where they found a 1999 Toyota Camry, a car Scott was believed to have been in the night he disappeared.

The front of the car sustained heavy damage and items belonging to Scott, including his phone case and debit card, were found near the vehicle.

Police arrested Keon King, 21, last week and charged him with kidnapping for ransom, false imprisonment, stalking, recklessly endangering another and tampering with evidence, according to court records viewed by The Post.

He has not been charged in connection with Scott’s death Sunday morning.

King had faced kidnapping charges following an incident in January in which he allegedly stalked a woman before kidnapping her from her home and assaulting her in her car.

Part of the incident was recorded and posted on TikTok after his arrest on Tuesday.

The charges against him were dropped in May after his victim repeatedly failed to appear in court.

They were refiled Tuesday after King’s arrest in connection with Scott’s disappearance.

Prosecutors in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office admitted their mistake in allowing the charges to be dropped from the original case.

“We could have done better in this area. A really sophisticated approach to the case would have been to try to integrate everything with video evidence,” District Attorney Larry Krasner told WPVI.

King’s bail was the reason the woman was afraid to show up in court in the first place.

“The reason they were afraid he was going to come out the same door they went into the courthouse right after they testified against him was because he was out on bail,” Krasner said.

King was held on $200,000 bail in the first case. He posted 10% bail and was released.

He is currently being held on $2.5 million bail for King’s kidnapping.