DNA analysis helps investigators identify body of ‘Boy in the Box’ found 65 years ago

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Officials announced Tuesday that investigators and DNA analysts examining the decades-old case colloquially known as the “Boy in the Box” have identified the body.

According to CNN, the child was discovered wrapped in a blanket inside a cardboard box on February 25, 1967, in a wooded area in northeast Philadelphia. The boy reportedly had several scars and recently-buzzed hair, was malnourished and was estimated to be between four and six years old. 

“Despite numerous attempts to identify the child throughout the years, the identity of the boy remained a mystery. Through detective work and DNA analysis, police are finally able to identify the child,” the Philadelphia Police Department said in a news release Tuesday.

Officials did not immediately make his identity clear.

The case is the city’s oldest unsolved homicide. Philadelphia police are offering a reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction.