German authorities have returned an infant to its parents after a joke went afoul about selling the baby boy on eBay for $1. The twenty-something parents' admission halted a days-long probe into potential baby trafficking.

In a May 24 auction that was online less than three hours, a writer advertised the baby was for sale because it "has gotten too loud." Internet auction giant eBay quickly removed the ad.

The unidentified 23-year-old mother and 24-year-old father kept in contact with their young son while in official custody.