Family mistakes sex toy for an angel, and admirers post pictures on social media

Surely, this was an angel fallen from heaven.

An Indonesian fisherman found a life-size inflatable woman while walking on a beach at Banggai regency in March, the BBC reports.

The 21-year-old man took her home, where his family in the small village took care of her like she was a real woman. His mother dressed her in a different blouse and hijab every day and propped her on a chair, where the doll slumped as she lost air.

People who took pictures of her posted them on social media, declaring her a “bidadari,” a type of angel or spirit. The story became more embellished as news of the “beautiful angel” spread.

But local police who saw the photos and investigated saw something else.

This was no heavenly creature.

“It was a sex toy,” the area’s police chief, Heru Pramukarno, told local media.

Police were concerned that rumors and unverified stories were spreading that the woman had been found “stranded and crying,” the BBC reported.

Villagers found the doll just days after a rare solar eclipse in March. The solar eclipse was viewed as a spiritual experience. Many people in the predominately Muslim country said special prayers in mosques.

The timing led some people to believe that the doll had divine powers.

“They have no internet, they don’t know what a sex toy is,” Pramukarno told one news agency.

Police confiscated the doll.

No word on bail.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Family mistakes sex toy for an angel, and admirers post pictures on social media."