A teddy bear that looked like it was wrapped in human skin was discovered outside of a convenience store, sparking alarm and an investigation.
The disturbing figure was found near a bus station in the small town of Victorville, California, shortly after midday on Sunday.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a 911 call for ‘human remains’ at the scene.
Photos showed a bear-like object with eyes, ears, a nose and stitching across its body. It appeared to be of human skin tone with blood marks throughout.
An investigator with a coroner’s office picked up the bear using a glove and observed it, before putting it into a plastic evidence bag.
Authorities did not immediately say whether the bear was made of human skin.
But Robert Kelly of Dark Seed Creations, a South Carolina artist who specializes in special effects designs made of latex, claimed responsibility for the bear.
‘I cant make this s*** up! One of my skin teddy bears has apparently been involved in a prank that brought police attention! This is f***ing wild!’ Dark Seed Creations posted on Facebook on Sunday.
In another post, Dark Seed Creations wrote that their phone was blowing up with questions and provided more details.
‘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,’ states the post.
‘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.’
It included a video showing similar bears. Kelly sells them for $165 apiece.
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Dark Seed Creations describes itself on Facebook as ‘the purveyor of the perverse, manipulator of the macabre, developer of the diabolical, maker of masks’.
Meanwhile, authorities are doing forensic testing on the recovered bear. The sheriff’s department is not ruling anything out, and has not yet made any arrests around the weird discovery.
‘A coroner investigator has taken possession of the object, and the investigation is continuing,’ stated sheriff’s department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez.
Victorville is about 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
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