When Regina Zimmer bid $ 40 on an abandoned storage unit in Colfax , California , near Sacramento , all she did before the purchase was look at the unit from the outside and hope to find something valuable . But after going through the contents and coming upon a storage ottoman , tape-sealed and with a `` fragile '' sticker on top , she `` had a feeling it was n't something good . '' Zimmer , who went through the unit with her son in November , told CNN affiliate KOVR that `` as soon as we opened it and took the lid off , the smell was horrible . '' Inside , she said , there were garbage bags and a stuffed animal . She told affiliate KTXL that she also came upon a red sleeping bag with more bags inside . She called the Placer County Sheriff 's Office . Deputies said that while `` investigating the contents of a container , '' they `` discovered the decomposing remains of a fetus or small infant . '' `` You could tell it was a skull and a little jaw bone and hair , '' Zimmer said . Police say the container was taken to the county morgue , where authorities say they found `` a second fetus or small infant '' inside . Autopsies are being performed on both of the bodies . Placer County Sheriff 's Lt. John Poretti said the department was `` trying to determine the age of the fetus , if it was a viable fetus . Or if it was a possible miscarriage . '' Police say detectives are interviewing a woman believed to be the mother . Charges against her are pending . When asked by KTXL if the mother has given an explanation to police , Poretti said `` some , but not completely . '' He would n't comment when asked if she was remorseful . Meanwhile , Zimmer , who says she 's bid on storage lockers dozens of times , says `` this is the worst thing I have ever found ... and the saddest thing I have ever , ever found . ''
A woman in Colfax , California , wins an abandoned storage locker with a $ 40 reward . When she and her son dig through it , they find an envelope sealed with tape . When they unseal the ottoman , a strong smell prompts them to call sheriff 's deputies . They find two small bodies ; they interview a woman thought to be the mother .