Police have been left mystified after a fresh heart, believed to be human, was found in a field.
Officers say paramedics found the organ in a plastic bag by chance on land behind a supermarket in Norwalk, northern Ohio, after stopping in the store's car park.
Unable to identify its origins, police were notified and passed the heart on to the Huron County Coroner's office.
Norwalk Police Chief Dave Light told the Norwalk Reflector: "I haven’t heard anything like that
"The paramedics weren’t sure what they had, so they called us. It was fresh; it wasn’t decomposed.
"They’re 95 percent sure it was human, but they want to make 100 percent sure."
Human hearts are very similar to the hearts of pigs, dogs and chimpanzees making it difficult for the coroner's office to be certain.
Huron County Coroner Jeff Harwood said the organ was "in pretty good condition (but) had an odour of decomposition to it."
Mr Harwood said no one had come forward to claim the heart.
