Identity of "Boy in the Box" discovered dead in 1957 to be revealed soon by Philadelphia Police

Philadelphia Police might soon identify the boy who was discovered dead and abandoned in the city in 1957. Since he was discovered battered up and naked by the side of a road in the city's Fox Chase district, the youngster, who was between the ages of 3 and 7, has been known as "the Boy in the Box." However, because of a development in DNA evidence, officials have finally been able to obtain the boy's birth certificate and will reveal his name to the public next week, sources told NBC10 on Wednesday. According to Bill Fleisher of the Vidocq Society, "He was one of these throwaway, forgotten children," adding that the case was "the longest continuously investigated homicide in the history of the Philadelphia Police Department." Furthermore, Fleisher noted about the decades-long investigation by Vidocq, a group of retired forensic and law enforcement specialists who look into cold cases, "A lot of people took interest in this." On another note, the news comes after a declaration that investigators were close to cracking the case last year. Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith told NBC10, "There have been rapid developments as it pertains to that investigation." Since that time, a "prominent family" in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has had their DNA linked to the "Boy in the Box," the outlet added. Additionally, Fleisher recalled on Wednesday, "We thought maybe he was a Hungarian kid who came over in '56 when they had the Hungarian Revolution. We had all these theories. Thought maybe he was in the military." Lastly, the current inscription on the unknown child's tombstone at Philadelphia's Ivy Hill Cemetery is "America's Unknown Child."