Human kidney recovered 2 months after theft

A human kidney stolen from an exhibit of preserved bodies and organs was recovered after two months, thanks to an anonymous tip, police said.

Police interviewed and released a 26-year-old Tacoma man about the case and were waiting for prosecutors to decide whether to bring charges, Officer Jeffery R. Kappel said. Police declined to say why the kidney was taken or where it had been kept.

The organ disappeared Dec. 30 from "Bodies ... The Exhibition," which features 20 cadavers and 260 other parts preserved with a process that replaces human tissue with silicone rubber. Skin is removed, exposing muscles, bones, organs, tendons, blood vessels and brains.

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The kidney was part of an interactive area where visitors can touch some body parts.

The exhibit, which runs through April 29, is one of several being shown around the world. The displays have drawn protests in Seattle and elsewhere because the Chinese citizens whose cadavers and body parts were used never agreed to let their remains be displayed.

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It was unclear whether anyone would claim a $10,000 reward offered in January by Premier Exhibitions Inc. of Atlanta for the kidney's return. Police were holding the kidney as evidence.

The theft was the first from a "Bodies" display, a Premier Exhibitions spokeswoman said.