An unidentified young boy’s body was discovered on the side of a road in suburban Philadelphia on Thursday, February 25, 1957.
In the description, the Boy in the Box was described as having blue eyes, a fair complexion, and medium to light brown crudely cut hair.
His face and body were covered in bruises;
Some experts believe the child may have spent 2-3 days or even 2 to 3 weeks in the box.
He was between the ages of four and six at the time. He remained unknown for more than fifty years.
As a result, the case was dubbed “The Boy in the Box.”.
Who is the unidentified Boy in the Box?
The Boy in the Box was a young boy found in a cardboard box on the side of the road in suburban Philadelphia.
At first, the police thought they would find the missing child identify or the murderer if someone reported the child missing.
However, this did not happen. There was no report of a missing child matching his description.
The case remains unsolved.
True Crime Story …The Investigation
The investigation into the Boy’s death was one of the most extensive in Pennsylvania history.
In 1957, Philadelphia police and FBI agents searched for clues about the Boy’s identity and tried to find his killer.
Case Evidence
- The unidentified Boy’s hair was crudely cut and located throughout his body, indicating it was cut while he was deceased and naked or immediately before he died.
- His hands and feet were wrinkled, indicating they were submerged in water for an extended time just before or after he died.
- The child may have had a chronic eye ailment.
- He had not eaten 2-3 hours before death.
- He was wrapped in a faded flannel blanket made either in North Carolina or Quebec, Canada.
- It was also massed, produced, and shipped to multiple locations.
- His esophagus contained a dark, brown residue, indicating he vomited shortly before death.
- He was severely malnourished.
- The cause of death was multiple blows to the head
The Discovery
The Boy was buried in a potter’s field next to Mechanicsville and Dunks Ferry Rd, and the tombstone read “Heavenly Father, Bless This Unknown Boy.”
In 1998, his remains were exhumed and mitochondrial DNA extracted.
At Ivy Hill Cemetery, the Boy was reburied in a donated coffin on November 11, 1998.
A website was also launched to keep this Boy’s memory alive and to help generate new leads. The website is America’s Unknown Child.
An attempt was made to link this child to a relative by scanning it through a database. But, the mitochondrial DNA sequence was too small to produce an accurate match despite this.
Conclusion
The Boy in the Box case is one of the most haunting mysteries of the 20th century.
Some people in this world don’t care about taking the lives of others…even children.
For anyone to hurt or kill children…they are diabolical. When a child goes unidentified for 50 years, it is heartbreaking.
It’s as if he had been thrown out like trash. The case remains unsolved.