Man tries to sell coffin on Craigslist Dave Burgstrum of Council Bluffs put an antique coffin up for sale on Craigslist - but neglected to mention it already came with a skeleton Burgstrum was attempting to raise money for a hall that belongs to a chapter of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a benevolent society The skeleton was allegedly donated to the Odd Fellows by a local doctor in the 1880s Police investigated the remains and deemed ownership of them illegal due to a lack of identification The remains have been sent to a laboratory for potential identification Police have questioned an Iowa man who placed an antique coffin for sale on Craigslist which contained a full skeleton, for the bargain price of $12,000. Dave Burgstrum of Council Bluffs placed the coffin for sale in order to pay property taxes on a hall belonging to a now-defunct chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Police noticed the unusual ad, inspected the remains and deemed it illegal to sell them. For sale: This appears to be the advertisement placed by Dave Burgstrum for the antique oak coffin - but there's no sign of the skeleton, which could have made for a nasty surprise for the buyer According to Iowa law, without proper identification papers, human remains can not be legally sold. The bones were sent to Karen Foreman, chief investigator for the Pottawattamie County Medical Examiner's Office, who examined the remains on Friday, reports The Daily Nonpareil. Foreman said the bones would be sent to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Laboratory to be examined by an anthropologist but that identification is extremely unlikely. If the bones are of Native American descent they will be returned to a Native American organization. Burgstrum placed the coffin and human remains up for sale with a succinct description: 'Oak coffin on stand' in an ad that's still live on Craigslist. He told The Daily Nonpareil that a local historian told him that the skeleton was donated to the organization by a local doctor after he retired in the 1880s. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a global altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization that has its roots in British Oddfellows organizations of the 17th century which promotes helping others and personal and social development. The coffin itself dates to the 1900s, but Burgstrum can't explain how the bones came lay inside it. 'They were just there as long as anyone could remember,' he said. Odd: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a benevolent society with roots in 17th century Britain Burgstrum told the Daily Nonpareil that the coffin was used in a ritual conducted by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which has a long history in Council Bluffs, beginning in 1852. Along with his brother Dan, Dave Burgstrum is a fifth-generation Odd Fellow, but said membership had dwindled in the last two decades leaving a large property tax on the hall and no donations to pay it. The hall, which is located in the 700 block of First Avenue, and Odd Fellows memorabilia, are in the care of Dave, Dan and Dave's wife Linda.