A man who bought a smoker at an auction found a human leg, that was severed about two to three inches above the knee, in the device on Tuesday.

The Maiden police said the man opened up the smoker he bought and saw what he thought was a piece of wood wrapped in a paper bag. When he unopened it he was surprised to see a human leg.

The smoker was left behind at a storage facility and subsequently auctioned. Police investigators contacted the mother and son who had rented the space where the smoker was found.

According to the mother, Peg Steele, her son had his leg amputated after a plane crash and decided to keep the leg after the surgery, for souvenir purposes.

"The rest of the family was very much against it," Steele said.

Police added Steele's son, John Wood, plans to drive to Maiden, about 35 miles northwest of Charlotte, to get his amputated leg back.