BUSHWICK — Authorities made a ghoulish discovery Tuesday when an unearthed casket with human bones inside was found on the street, police said.
Police were contacted just after 6 a.m. about the abandoned coffin, which was spotted on Pilling Street near Central Avenue, directly across from The Evergreens Cemetery, according to the NYPD.
The casket was missing its lid and covered in mud, and carried no identifying serial numbers, police said.
The mangled coffin did not hold a full skeleton, but the medical examiner did find "numerous bones" inside, police said. The bones discovered were from a human hand and foot, the medical examiner's office and police sources said.
The coffin had been buried for about 25 years, sources added. The age of the bones have not yet been determined, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner said.
Officials believe the bones were previously buried with the casket in a grave and are still working to determine how it ended up above ground.
The 83rd Precinct tweeted a photo of the casket Tuesday evening, saying the incident was "not cool."
Nobody knows who dumped a casket with no body in it. Investigation is ongoing 2 find the people responsible. Not Cool pic.twitter.com/RgOJiQk6oh
— NYPD 83rd Precinct (@NYPD83Pct) May 6, 2015Officials searched The Evergreens Cemetery and said that all the graves were untouched.
Officials with The Evergreens Cemetery had no immediate comment.
Police are investigating the incident as "commercial dumping" and have made no arrests.
