KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man's body was discovered stuffed under a mattress at a local motel Sunday.

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Police said that the man appeared to have been dead for some time, but the body went unnoticed until a guest staying the room could no longer tolerate the smell.

Officers were called to the Capri Motel in the 1400 block of Independence Avenue around noon Sunday after cleaning crews made the grisly discovery.

"I asked them what was going on and they said they found a body in one of the rooms," said Dennis Shultz, a guest at the motel.

KMBC's Emily Aylward reported that the man who checked into the motel room a few days ago complained to management about the odor two times over the three days. He then checked out on Sunday because he could not tolerate the smell.

Police said that the cleaning staff lifted up the mattress in the room and found the body. Detectives said that the body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and had apparently been there for several days.

"If you say someone is dead for a few days, how could someone staying there not tell or smell or know something was wrong?" Shultz said.

Police suspect that the wooden panels on the side of the bed prevented someone from discovering the body earlier.