What some children pulled from the Ogeechee River Tuesday certainly looked like a human arm — so realistic that adults called the Bulloch County Sheriff's Department — but closer scrutiny revealed it was made of rubber.
The arm was an extremely realistic replica, said Bulloch County Sheriff's Inv. Jared Akins. Where the elbow joint would be, there was even a stick poking out that resembled a bone. The arm was blackened by river water and exposure to the point it looked just like a human body part would look if it were discovered in a river, he said.
But the appendage is either a "possible prosthetic or a gag item," he said.
The people who found the fake arm in the Ogeechee River near Redbreast Lane were "concerned, and rightly so," he said. But when deputies and investigators inspected the arm, they found it was " bendable and pliable" and was obviously a very good replica of a human arm.
The next question — where did it come from?
"We have no evidence of it belonging to anyone, and no one is missing who had a prosthetic arm," Akins said.
He remarked on how realistic the fake arm appeared. "It's impressive," he said. "If you took a cursory look at it" it would fool anyone, he said.
Akins said he and other investigators will check with local medical supply offices to see whether they could identify the arm as a prosthetic. The likely it is a novelty item — such as the fake arms that can be purchased around Halloween and are often left hanging out of automobile trunks or doors as gags - is possible as well, he said.
The arm was discovered when children were playing in the river Tuesday, he said.
The arm was an extremely realistic replica, said Bulloch County Sheriff's Inv. Jared Akins. Where the elbow joint would be, there was even a stick poking out that resembled a bone. The arm was blackened by river water and exposure to the point it looked just like a human body part would look if it were discovered in a river, he said.
But the appendage is either a "possible prosthetic or a gag item," he said.
The people who found the fake arm in the Ogeechee River near Redbreast Lane were "concerned, and rightly so," he said. But when deputies and investigators inspected the arm, they found it was " bendable and pliable" and was obviously a very good replica of a human arm.
The next question — where did it come from?
"We have no evidence of it belonging to anyone, and no one is missing who had a prosthetic arm," Akins said.
He remarked on how realistic the fake arm appeared. "It's impressive," he said. "If you took a cursory look at it" it would fool anyone, he said.
Akins said he and other investigators will check with local medical supply offices to see whether they could identify the arm as a prosthetic. The likely it is a novelty item — such as the fake arms that can be purchased around Halloween and are often left hanging out of automobile trunks or doors as gags - is possible as well, he said.
The arm was discovered when children were playing in the river Tuesday, he said.