Pecos Hanging

Commuters along Pecos Road in Ahwatukee Foothills this morning were startled to see a dead body hanging from a tree near a wash.

Phoenix police spokesman L.A. Samudio said that at 6 a.m. this morning an off-duty police officer with the Gila River Indian Community was driving on Pecos Road when he saw a body hanging from a tree in a city-owned wash near Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary School. He notified the Phoenix Police Department and officers were dispatched to the scene.

“Right now this is being investigated as a death investigation,” Samudio said, describing the deceased as a white male in his late 20’s or early 30’s, wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and a cap.

Although the incident was not on school property, Lagos students were not allowed on the playground facing the scene in a wash about 50 yards off Pecos Road.

Phoenix police attempted to shield passersby from the dead body by covering it up. They stopped westbound traffic on Pecos, detouring commuters off at 40^th Street.

Tonja Yalung, principal at Lagos Elementary, said the school “went to a rainy day schedule” and that “no child was ever on the playground.”

As a precaution, the Kyrene School District met as a crisis team and put into place a prevention team at both Lagos and Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School, which includes a school psychologist available for students, teachers and staff upon request.

“We are working to get a phone directory statement together so all of our families will know what’s going on,” said Kelly Alexander, director of community education and outreach services for Kyrene.

Phoenix police are now trying to identify the deceased by looking for ID on the body and, if that's not successful, by running fingerprints. Officials said they will notify next of kin before an official announcement is made.

Visit ahwatukee.com for updates throughout the day and see more information in Friday’s edition of the Ahwatukee Foothills News.