A charity for unidentified children is hoping to discover 'Miranda's' true identify and rebury her this summer in another cemetery
Construction workers have stumbled on the mysterious 145-year-old coffin of a little girl - still clutching a red rose.
They had been remodeling a garden when they discovered the lead and bronze coffin buried underneath a concrete garage .
The find, underneath the San Francisco home of Ericka Karner, is believed to be the resting place of a three-year-old girl who's preserved skin and long blonde hair can still be seen through the windows of the coffin.
The girl is thought to be one of thousands of people buried in the city's Odd Fellows Cemetery, which was active for 30 years before it was forced to shut in 1890.
Redevelopment of the site meant about 180,000 bodies were moved to another burial plot in the 1920s - but the little girl, found buried in a long white dress and with lavender flowers in her hair - was left behind.
There were no markings on the coffin, which was lined with purple velvet, and no way of identifying the girl discovered on May 9, who is now being called Miranda - a name chosen by Karner's two daughters.
Amazingly, Karner was then told by the city council that she must take responsibility for the child's body and was quoted almost £5,000 by an undertaker to take the body.
But she told the San Francisco Chronicle : "It didn't seem right.
"The city decided to move all these bodies 100 years ago, and they should stand behind their decision."
And she said she felt she had to look after the little girl because she considered her 'part of her family now'.
Karner was eventually put in touch with Garden of Innocence , which provides burials for unidentified children.
It hopes to find out Miranda's true identify and conduct another burial this summer at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Colma once it acquires a burial permit.
(Source: Mirror)
