If one of my next door neighbors was burning something that smelled really bad, I'm really not sure if I'd call the cops. I'd think "wow that is so out of character and I wonder why they are doing that" but since I know them all to be really normal folks, I don't think I'd have suspected it could be a body.
I can understand that.
In our county we are allowed to have bonfires, but we are also able to get burn permits for larger burns.
Everyone in our county is very aware the only thing allowed to be burned is outside natural growth, and vegetation such as wood from fallen trees or leaves/tree limbs, etc. Everyone must agree to burn only what is permitted which excludes any man made products like boxes or even lumber to have the permit approved.
Some do it because at times it's obvious plastics or man made products are being burned because the plume of smoke is jet black when raw untreated wood, limbs, trees, leaves puts out a much different cloud of smoke.
Anyone caught burning things they aren't allowed to do can be fined from $250 up to $2500 depending on how big each violation was.
We have many who do have bonfires at get togethers however I've never seen anyone burn anything in them, but twigs, small branches/limbs or small cut pieces of wood which gives off a much different smell, and the smoke cloud is also different.
That kind of smoke smell actually has a pleasant smell which is why so many now cookout using wood chips or different kinds of untreated raw woods from different kind of trees.
I still think it would depend on the professions of the neighbors. Our area has several firefighters, nurses, and police officers in it, and in surrounding rural subdivisions.
If they had smelled this particular stench, imo, they would have alerted the authorities immediately or gone over to check it out for themselves.
I have had the unfortunate experience to smell burning human flesh. It's a smell that has stayed with me for decades now. There is no way to forget it even when trying.
It's far different than even when a farmer or rancher has a fallen cow or dead horse, and uses this method to cremate their dead animal in a designated burn pit.
We are extremely close friends with all of our neighbors, but that wouldn't stop me from contacting the proper authorities should I smell that one distinctive smell that is like no other.
Or if I knew this was not a normal wood smoke smell, but smelled more like something else was burning like flesh of some kind because nothing burned in a regular bonfire would ever emit this kind of stench or any stench for that matter.
Jmhoo