29. A Toddler’s Casket – and Her Ghost
When Ericka Karner was having her home renovated, construction workers found a small coffin under the garage. There were no identifying marks, so they nicknamed the girl in the coffin “Miranda.” They believed burial took place around 120 years earlier. She was thought to be left behind when the Odd Fellows cemetery moved away. When Ericka wanted to help bury her, the city wouldn’t allow it because she didn’t have a death certificate, so an organization called Garden of Innocence, which provides burials for unidentified children, stepped in to help determine Miranda’s identity. After nearly a year, they were able to identify her as Edith Howard Cook, who died on October 13, 1876, as a result of a protein deficiency, which would be easily curable today.
Until Edith’s burial was adequate, Ericka and her husband, in addition to the construction workers, said they heard toddler footsteps on the second floor. Now, Edith and her coffin rest peacefully in Colma’s Green Lawn Cemetery.