An Iowa man who’s trying to sell an oak coffin on Craigslist for $12,000 to help fund the now-defunct Council Bluffs chapter of International Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternity that advocates for giving money to the poor has been halted by the police. There’s a big surprise – the coffin contains a skeleton.!!!
In his ‘Craigslist’ ad, posted June 20, Dave Burgstrum did not mention the human remains inside the coffin. rather, he describes the coffin as “in very good condition” with bronze handles and lined with silk.
He said that the coffin was used in the past for the group’s rituals and that the bones had been in there for a long time.“They were just there as long as anyone could remember,” he said.
But, Council Bluffs Police detective Michael Roberts said that human remains cannot be sold if they are unidentified.
“If they had papers of origination, then they would be OK to own,” He added.
Burgstrum said lodge records show the skeleton was donated by a doctor in the 1880s.
The remains were sent to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Laboratory, but it is unlikely that the remains will be identified, the AP reported.
But Burgstrum just wants to sell the coffin and preserve what he can for his organization. He said that the laboratory is welcome to keep the skeleton. “I’m ready to wheel and deal on it,” he said. “I’d like to get those taxes paid.”
