Funeral for mystery baby found beneath floor

Funeral for mystery baby found beneath floor2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleDuncan Leatherdalein Bishop AucklandBBCBaby Auckland was buried in Bishop Auckland Town CemeteryAlmost two years ago, the skeleton of a baby was found beneath floorboards during a house renovation, wrapped in a 110-year-old newspaper. Today, the mystery boy was properly laid to rest.On top of a grassy hill in the corner of the town cemetery, a pink cherry blossom tree stands guard over a huddle of small, colourful graves.This is where the children of Bishop Auckland are buried and remembered.Moments after the 12:53 train service to Saltburn trundles by beyond the fence, a new coffin is added to the sad collection.The polished silver name-plate on the white box, so small it only needs one undertaker to carry it, reads Baby Auckland, a name given to him by the authorities.What happened to the boy is a mystery.A 10-minute long service was held to lay the baby to rest in Bishop Auckland Town CemeteryHe was found in July 2024 beneath the floorboards of a Victorian-era building on Fore Bondgate by workmen during a renovation.The skeleton was wrapped in an edition of The Umpire newspaper from Sunday 19 June 1910 and had a brown twine knotted around his neck.Durham Police launched a probe, led by Det Ch Insp Mel Sutherland.A painstaking three days were spent examining the skeleton in situ before he was removed, with all but a small toe bone recovered.Durham PoliceBaby Auckland's skeleton was found beneath a floorboard...Durham Police...wrapped in a 1910 newspaper with a brown twine knotted round his neckFurther tests were done by a pathologist and forensic anthropologist, but a cause of death could not be ascertained.In a bid to try and identify the baby, DNA testing was carried out to see if he matched with several members of the public who, after hearing of the discovery, came forward to say they were related to the building's previous occupants."Unfortunately, it didn...