Warning: This article contains a photo of a teddy bear artwork that may shock readers.
The Californian authorities were not amused by an artwork that was dubbed a “macabre teddy bear" used in a "prank".
A teddy bear made of fake human skin was discovered on Sunday in Victorville (130km northeast of Los Angeles) and the local community was worried that a serial killer was behind the grim find.
According to the New York Post, the grotesque toy was placed in a sitting position on a pavement outside a petrol station, and its discovery led a witness to call the police to report that "a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business".
A police investigation - and even a coroner's examination of the item - ensued.
On Monday, the sheriff's office ruled the grisly creation was not made of any human body parts. They dubbed the toy a "prank".
However, a 23-year-old man, Hector Corona Villanueva, was accused of planting false evidence and causing an emergency by leaving the bear behind.
A statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's office did not mention a potential motive, and said the "investigation into who left the teddy bear at the business is continuing".
Here is the teddy. Warning: you can't unsee this (remarkably intricate) toy:
The latest twist in this investigation is that a South Carolina artist named Robert Kelly has taken credit for creating the object.
Kelly’s work, which specialises in horror creations for exhibitions and movies, is available for sale online on Etsy.
He confirmed that he had sold the teddy bear to a buyer in Victorville and identified his artwork.
"Our work is pretty easily recognisable, and people were sending the articles (about the petrol station) left and right. I looked, and sure enough it was the bear I sent out last week," Kelly told People magazine.
In a message later posted on Facebook, the artist explained that he had not been informed of the buyer's intentions.
"No I did not have any knowledge of the (buyer's) intentions nor was I involved in a prank on the other side of the nation from me," he wrote.
Regardless, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office did not find it beary funny.
They released a statement which read: "Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service."
