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America's unknown child

 Autopsy Photo with all the terrible bruises


                                                                                         
                                                                                           
                                                                                                 A police artist's sketch of the boy with out the bruises


I have just read a book about this very sad case by David Stout called The Boy In the box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child. The boy was found in a bassinet box in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia,PA on Feb. 25,1957. He is still to this day unidentified. He was between 4-6 years old according the ME. He had dark blond hair and blue eyes.  He was 40" tall and weighed 30lbs. He was VERY malnourished. He was so thin that you could clearly see all of his ribs in the ME photos.In 1998 he was exhumed and MtDNA was taken from one of his teeth. He was then reburied in Ivy Cemetery instead of Potter's Field where he had been among criminals. There have been suspects over the years. The Nicolietti's( who were ruled out by DNA),the Dudley's  and others without names. A lady named Mary has said his name was Jonathan. I like that name. There is no proof of her story of his "purchase" and death at the hands  of her mother. So many investigators have been on this case over the last 55 years,many are no longer living. Though we still don't know who he was in life,officer Elmer Palmer (first on the scene) and Remington"Rem"Bristow (ME investigator) and others in heaven with him now do. Our boy didn't have a good life, but, had many daddy's in death,who loved him so.  I started a Facebook Group for the boy in the box which has taken on a life of it's own. This case is now also in the capable hands of the Vidocq Society a group of retired who's name comes from an old detective from the 1800's. as well as Philadelphia PD.  http://www.facebook.com/groups/120018670571/

http://boyinthebox.bravehost.com/amboy.htm

http://americasunknownchild.net/

http://www.justicequest.net/forums/showthread.php?t=53767

http://www.justicequest.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5267


His Find A Grave memorial:  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7207817



His original stone from 1957
The boys new stone from his reburial in 1998

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