'Mummy Baby' Stolen From Grave

CONCORD, N.H. -- Police are looking for the mummified remains of a baby after its grave was found disturbed, Manchester TV station WMUR reported.

Concord police said a person visiting Blossom Hill Cemetery reported that the grave of a mummified baby buried two years ago appeared to have been disturbed. Investigators obtained a court order to exhume the grave and determined that the corpse had been removed. The casket was left behind.

The grave belonged to a mummified baby that the Peavey family of Concord said had been in their possession for decades.

The family called the remains "Baby John" and said they believed it was a stillborn child of an ancestor, but DNA tests were inconclusive. The state took the body once it learned of its existence, and when the family could not prove it was a relative, the remains were buried in March 2008.

The mummified baby was confirmed by anthropologists to be at least 100 years old before it was finally laid to rest under orders from the state.

Detectives were at the home of Charles Peavey on Monday, searched a yellow sport utility vehicle and spent nearly three hours questioning three men and a couple of neighbors before leaving. No arrests were made.

"Obviously, with any investigation, we need to gather the facts, find out exactly what we have, and as soon as we know what we're up against, we'll be able to decide the next step at that point," Sgt. John Thomas said.

Police said the baby was buried in an unmarked grave, and only a few people knew its location.

In a written statement, Peavey's attorney, James Rosenberg, said his client doesn't know what happened to the remains.

"He is not at all involved in any disturbance to Baby John's grave," Rosenberg said. "When Baby John was put to rest two years ago, he wanted nothing more than for Baby John to rest peacefully. Mr. Peavey is extraordinarily disturbed that there has been any disturbance to the gravesite."

Police said they are continuing to investigate what they called a "senseless act" and noted that disturbance of a burial site and abuse of a corpse are felonies in New Hampshire.