A bone-chilling sight in the middle of sunny San Luis Obispo on Sunday, a passerby noted an abandoned casket near the 101 freeway by the Santa Rosa overpass in California's Central Coast.
"I was like wait a second, that’s a coffin that’s not supposed to be there, and I kinda just screamed out in the car, that's a coffin!" recalled Kelsey Childs a San Luis Obispo resident.
Crossing her fingers that there was not a body inside, Childs posted some up-close pictures on social media. Soon the pictures exploded, and people couldn’t help but theorize how it ended up there.
"It definitely looked like it was used whether it was buried or wherever it definitely had some wear and tear," said Childs.
Imaginations ran wild, and questions swirled. The most common question is, was there anyone in there? Well, the reality is not as Hollywood as people were speculating.
According to CHP, it belonged to a pedestrian and when they made contact with her she was pushing it along the side of the 101.
"After speaking to the pedestrian, we realized she was part of the transient community here in San Luis Obispo. She came across it in a dump pile outside of a building that was being refurbished, and part of her statement was that it was given to her by construction crews who said it was going to be thrown out, and at that point, she just took possession of it," explained CHP Officer Miguel Alvarez.
According to a post by the San Luis Obispo Police Department, they also were aware of the uncanny item rolling around the streets, confirming yep, it’s a coffin, but nope, there was no one inside it. Something a good chunk of community members were wondering themselves, including the officer tasked with giving it a peek.
CHP collaborated with SLOPD and the sheriff's department to confirm there were no missing or stolen caskets in the last couple of days.
As for where exactly the casket came from before it came into the woman’s possessions, authorities were not sure. The casket now sits right out of view from drivers but according to CHP, the woman plans to sell it, so if anyone is in the market for a gently used coffin, this one may be on the market.
This story was originally published by KSBY in California's Central Coast.
