Baby's coffin found with organs, without body

NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Authorities in North Philadelphia have a tragic mystery on their hands.

People walking on the 3000 block of W. Clearfield Street just after 9 p.m. found a small coffin on the sidewalk.

One witness told FOX 29 News nobody had any idea what could've been inside the box.

It turns out, police said the people had found a human child's coffin, and the lid appeared to be pried open because the screws were freshly loosened.

Inside, there was a plastic bag with what appeared to be human organs.

Police called the Medical Examiner's Office.

Their preliminary investigation showed the organs appeared to be from an infant or very small child, but there was no body in the coffin and no sign of a previous body -- just the organs in the bag in the coffin -- so they don't know where the body is or how the coffin got to the sidewalk.

They said it appeared to be a "fresh coffin" and possibly taken from a funeral home or dug up from a fresh grave.

The location was found across the street from a cemetery so police sent a chopper with a search light to check there and also to a second cemetery, but could find no freshly dug-up graves.

Then, they sent in a cadaver dog but it didn't find anything either.

Now, they say they plan to see if funeral homes are missing a body or a casket, but the holiday may delay that.