Botanist Matt von Konrat from the Field Museum in Chicago was contacted by the FBI in 2009 to assist in solving a grave-robbing case involving human remains exhumed in a cemetery and reburied them to sell plots. The FBI found a clump of Fissidens taxifolius moss that was buried with the remains of three individuals illegally moved from their graves to another part of the cemetery, thought to be an attempt to profit off selling the plots. Despite initial skepticism, von Kolrat was able to identify the species of moss found alongside the bodies and determine how long the moss had been underground. He also found that while there are still active metabolisms, desiccated mosses can be rehydrated and (at least partially) brought back to life.