Police Discover Body In Renton Hotel Room, Seattle Man Arrested

RENTON, WA — A 31-year-old Seattle man was arrested in Renton Tuesday after police found a body inside his hotel room, according to investigators.

Detectives from Mercer Island were looking into a tip regarding a 61-year-old man who disappeared from the city April 23. The tip led investigators to a hotel on the 1800 block of East Valley Road in Renton. Once they arrived, detectives reported a strong odor coming from inside one of the rooms and called the Renton Police Department for assistance.

According to Renton police, officers spoke to a man inside the room on the phone, but he refused to let them inside. Police secured a search warrant to enter the room and found human remains inside a plastic container in the bathroom, investigators said.

The man in the hotel room was arrested on unrelated charges while the medical examiner determines the victim's identity and cause of death. Police said the circumstances surrounding the death remain under investigation.