Fake Skeleton Purchased at Yard Sale Not So Fake After All

Mitchell Fletcher is a retiree from Tampa, Florida who, like a lot of retirees, enjoys hitting local yard sales in search of a bargain or three.  At a recent yard sale Mr. Fletcher shelled out $8 for what he thought was a pretty neat Halloween decoration—a fake human skeleton.

When Fletcher got it home, he and his wife Judith gave the prized item a thorough looking over.  That was when they realized it was an actual human skeleton.

The couple placed a call to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, who sent out a detective to collect the bones for examination by the local medical examiner.  Turns out the one-time yard sale item is actually professionally prepared human anatomical skeleton, the same type used in institutions of higher learning.

Oh, and the Fletchers’ $8 investment?  Yeah, the teaching skeleton is worth about $3000.  Too bad they won’t see that cash, since it’s illegal for people to own human skeletons.

Still, losing that windfall hasn’t turned the Fletchers’ off their yard sale bargain hunting.  Who knows, maybe one of these days they’ll luck and find the jar with Einstein’s preserved brain in it.  Sure beats a used lamp, or a three legged table.

[My FOX Tampa Bay]