A mysterious box of human bones was found in a garage after a resident said they heard juvenile voices before the discovery.
Human remains discovered inside a box in Mt. Healthy garage on Thursday night are likely relics from the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows, a non-profit fraternal order historically rooted in England and formed in the United States in 1819.
A neighbor told police officers that he heard children in the alley by his house and went outside to make sure everything was okay but they discovered piles of human bones on a box in one of the garages in Ohio this week.
Vincent Demasi, chief of Mt. Healthy Police told Ohio ABC News that the man noticed his neighbor’s garage was open and he went inside. Authorities did their unusual investigation of where these mysterious remains came from.
Chief Demasi said: “He observed a box, which he looked at and saw the human remains, became concerned, took the box and called police.”
After the startling discovery, police uncovered where the bones likely came from. They believe that the bones are relics of a group called the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which apparently had a large following and lodge in Mt. Healthy, Ohio.
During the investigation, police reportedly learned that Ohio prisons used to sell unclaimed bodies over a century ago. Demasi said it appears the bones were in the possession of the Odd Fellows, who used skeletons in initiation rituals.
The box ended up in the garage after a family who ran a grocery store purchased the group’s lodge and found the bones. WTWT reported that the family already decided to name the remains “Frieda” and put them in the garage, where they sat likely for decades.
Chief Demasi told the news outlet: “I got to tell you, it’s one of the more bizarre cases in my 40-plus year history that we ever stumbled across. I don’t exactly know what to think about it, but I tend to believe it.”
Hamilton County Coroner’s Office now holds possession of the bones, although investigators are examining the remains. It is unclear if they will be able to identify who they belonged to.
Chief Demasi told Local 12 that the bones were around 100-years-old and bought legally. According to the website, The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was established on April 26, 1819, by Thomas Widely.
The said fraternity was originally based in Baltimore, Maryland. The fraternity expanded to other states under their purpose to” visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”
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