Mummy returned to rightful owner

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PORT HURON, Mich., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The mummified body of a young child has been shipped back to its rightful owner in Maryland, five years after it was listed for sale on eBay, police say.

The mummy was shipped from the Port Huron, Mich., Police Department Wednesday to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, where it will be returned to the Burns Collection, The (Port Huron) Times Herald reported.

"I'm glad to have the little fella back home," said Ronn Wade, director of the Anatomical Services Division at the university.

The Burns Collection, an assortment of anatomical specimens, was created by Scottish anatomist Allen Burns. The collection was brought to the United States in 1820 when a student of Burns' bought the collection and moved to Maryland.

Many of the specimens in the collection have disappeared.

The mummy was found in Port Huron in 2006 after someone reported to the police it was listed for sale on eBay.

Wade said he could tell by looking at it that it was part of the Burns Collection, but further tests were done to match the chemical makeup of the child's remains and other items in the collection.

It took Wade five years to get the body and he said the child's final resting place is appropriate.

"He'll be back with family," he said.