The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz.- An empty casket with a military seal was discovered in a desert area south of Tucson, and sheriff’s deputies were looking for the body.
“Obviously it had the smell, and there was other evidence that it had been inhabited recently,” Deputy Dawn Barkman said Sunday.
Forensic investigators took DNA samples, and a nationwide alert was issued in hopes of finding out who was the casket, Barkman said.
Deputies were called to a desert area near Interstate 10 around 5:30 p.m. Saturday after two people playing paintball found the casket, Barkman said. The casket was metallic silver with a U.S. Army insignia on it, she said.
“We have a lot of cemeteries, but it could be from anywhere,” Barkman said. “Right now we don’t have any concrete information where it came from.”