BODY OF GIRL, 2, FOUND AT BABY SITTER'S HOME.

Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer

The body of a 2-year-old girl was found wrapped in sheets under the South Central Los Angeles home of her baby sitter after the woman had checked herself into a mental hospital, police said Saturday.

Police were called to the home of the baby sitter in the 5300 block of South Compton Avenue about 6:30 p.m. Friday by her son, who told officers the child had been missing since early that morning, police spokesman Eduardo Funes said.

Police also learned that the baby sitter, identified only as a 56-year-old woman, had admitted herself to a local mental hospital.

During a search of the house, an officer discovered the body of Jaq Pope wrapped in sheets under the floor of the home, Funes said. Firefighters were called to the single-story house to help extricate the body.

``They utilized a chain saw to cut away a portion of the floor and wall,'' Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

It was not immediately known how the child died. No arrests were made immediately after the discovery, but the case was being investigated as a homicide, Funes said.

``When you find the body of a child wrapped in sheets under a house, you can pretty much suspect foul play,'' Funes said.

Lt. Mike Riddle of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy would be performed on the girl's body.