"Will you foster an unknown child in your memory, and provide him with a name?" - Unknown
February 25, 1957, the naked, battered body of a young boy, between 4-6 years of age, was found in a box in Fox Chase, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Investigators assumed the 'Boy in the Box' case would be quickly solved. Unfortunately, no one ever made a positive identification, and nearly 60 years later, 'America's Unknown Child' still has not received his name.
Warning: Some contents of this post may be disturbing to the reader.
A Box Containing a Body is Discovered
Late February, in 1957, a young man was checking his traps in the wooded area along Susquehana Road, Fox Chase, Philadelphia. During his routine he stumbled upon a box. Looking inside the box, he found a body.
He did not report the body, as he feared the police would take away his traps. Instead, he left the area.
A few days later, on February 24th, another young man headed into the wooded area. He had spotted a rabbit entering the underbrush, and knowing that there were traps in the area he decided to investigate.
It did not take him too long to find the box containing the body. He too, was set on not contacting the police, but the following day he changed his mind.
Investigators arrived on the scene. The box was positioned in thick underbrush, a popular dumping ground for rubbish, and had the body not been discovered at that time, it may have gone unfound for weeks, if not months.
The Young Boy
The box was had originally contained a baby's bassinet, but now it held the body of a young boy, aged between four and six. He was naked, wrapped only in a cheap, flannel blanket.
His finger and toenails had been trimmed shortly before he had died, but his hair appeared to have been cut shortly after, small clumps of medium to light brown hair clung to his body. The hair cutting had been hurried, and close to the scalp.
He had blue eyes and pale skin. Due to the cool weather investigators found it hard to determine exactly how long the child had been dead, somewhere between 2-3 days and a few weeks
He had died from blunt force trauma, and he had numerous bruises over his body, but particularly the head and face. No bones were broken.
Investigators expected the case to be solved quite quickly with the boy's parents making a positive identification. However, this never happened.
Many methods were used to ensure the image of the boy would get into as many homes as possible.
Newspapers ran stories, hundreds of thousands of posters were placed all over the city, and eventually, utility bills contained a photo of the boy, ensuring better exposure.
Unfortunately, all leads turned to dead ends
A Lonely Funeral
On July 24th, 1957, the boy was taken to the Philadelphia City Cemetery, and interred into the ground. His pallbearers were staff and investigators of the medical examiner's office. His original headstone read: 'Heavenly Father Bless This Unknown Child'.
