Headless doll triggers major police operation in Germany

An apparent headless body that prompted a major police operation in southern Germany has turned out to be a doll.

Police in Baden-Wuerttemberg state say a passer-by spotted what appeared to be a clothed but headless corpse covered in blood lying by a stream in Remstal, near Stuttgart, late last night.

Officers cordoned off the suspected crime scene and firefighters were called to retrieve the body, which was lying in an inaccessible place.

In a statement today, police said that only once firefighters reached the site were they able to determine that it was, in fact, a doll.