PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) - Mummified human skeletal remains, confiscated from the home of a woman who police say was trying to sell them on EBay, likely came from an early 19th century Scottish collection, authorities said.
Police said Friday they have closed their investigation and do not plan to seek criminal charges.
The remains were confiscated Oct. 10 after being spotted on the Internet auction website.
A Michigan State University anthropologist determined that remains likely date from the early 19th century and were part of a collection of anatomical specimens from Scottish anatomist Allen Burns, the Times Herald reported.
The collection was brought to the United States in 1820 and has been housed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The remains are from a child, probably between the ages of six and nine, Norman Sauer, an anthropology professor, told police in an e-mail.
"The medical mummy is clearly an important historical specimen and should be returned to the Burns Collection," Sauer wrote, noting that many specimens have disappeared from the collection over the years.
Lynn Sterling told police she obtained the remains from a friend who works in demolition and who said he found them in a Detroit school he helped demolish about 30 years ago.
The listing was removed from EBay on Oct. 11 because it violated a policy against selling human remains, EBay has said. The website allows the sale of skeletons for medical use, but not mummified remains.
