A teddy bear that appeared to be wrapped in human skin was left on a sidewalk in California, spooking locals and authorities, who opened an investigation into the gruesome find — which appears to be a twisted prank.
Authorities in California’s San Bernardino County rushed to a local convenience station on Bear Valley Road after receiving reports of human remains left outside around noon Sunday, according to local reports.
There, they found a teddy bear sitting on the sidewalk. But the figurine lacked the typical soft fur the cuddly kids’ toys are known to have and instead featured an almost leathery, human-like skin that had been stretched and pinned to its body.
The bear, too, featured humanoid lips, nose and sockets where eyes would typically be. Everything appeared to be stitched on almost surgically, like some sicko had removed an actual person’s skin and retrofitted it onto a teddy bear.
The outside of the convenience store was cordoned off while police investigated the startling discovery, KTLA reported.
While the investigation continues, the bear may very likely have been planted on the street as some sort of prank, Etsy seller “DarkSeedCreations” said, taking credit for the horror movie prop.
“Yes I made the bear in the news video. Yes that’s my etsy shop screenshotted on [the] news articles. Yes I did ship that bear to an etsy customer in Victorville CA last week. Yes you can still order one too. No I did not have any knowledge of the buyers intentions nor was I involved in a prank on the other side of the nation from me,” the user wrote on Facebook.
DarkSeedCreations, a shop on Etsy with a four-and-a-half-star rating, sells an array of macabre products all featuring human-like skin on normal objects, like ties with faces on them or a stomach-churning $100 “human” leather baseball hat.
“Medium sized teddy bear covered in random sections of skin. Perfect for snuggling or hiding in someone’s bed, each bear is a original design,” the shop’s description for a teddy bear matching the one found at the convenience store reads.
Other items in the store include eggs with fake eyeballs inside, a “fetal skeleton baroque frame,” and a toy alphabet block with a penis on top aptly titled “c–kblock,” according to the store.
The user has run the store on Etsy for eight years, according to the website.
A coroner was seen taking the teddy bear away from the site. The office’s findings haven’t been released yet.
It is unclear if police will continue investigating the matter after the creator’s revelation.
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