Deceased newborn found 3/13/06 LaPorte County/IN
Deceased newborn infant found in LaPorte County Posted: 03/13/2006 10:49 am Last Updated: 03/13/2006 09:45 pm Story filed by NewsCenter16 Reporter Kari Huston LaPorte County, IN - The body of a newborn baby was found dumped in a rural area outside Rolling Prairie in LaPorte County on Sunday. An autopsy on the infant was scheduled for Monday. Detectives are hoping the results will tell them more about how this baby died and when. Despicable crime Who would dump a newborn baby on the side of the road? Police are trying to answer that question after an infant's body was found Sunday afternoon in the 8200 block of 300 East, which is just northwest of Rolling Prairie. The infant's body was discovered in a wooded area. Neighbors say the man who lives next door was working on a fence on his property when he made the tragic discovery. "I would have to assume this must have been a situation where a woman was going to have a baby and she didn't go to a hospital, I don't know," says Shirley Olinger, who lives in the neighborhood where the baby was found. "The investigator did say that somebody's hurting, so I don't know if it was indicative of a lot of blood there." If police did find any evidence that a woman had given birth just before dumping the baby, then they are not saying so at this time. However, neighbors wonder if the newborn was still alive when someone left it there. "To dump a baby is horrible. You would think they could at least put it up for adoption or something," says Bob Murnane, who also lives in the area where the infant was discovered. Police say forensics will tell them if the baby was stillborn. Major Gary Broling of the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office said of said, "The body was removed by the coroner's office today. There will be scheduled a forensic autopsy here in LaPorte, and at this time, this is basically all the information that we have," he said. If someone hoped to hide a pregnancy by disposing of this baby, it is a secret that authorities say won't be kept for long. Awaiting results of autopsy A forensic pathologist is conducting an autopsy on the baby, but so far there is no word on the results. Stay with NewsCenter 16 and WNDU.com for the latest on this story. http://wndu.com/news/032006/news_48545.php

Autopsy reveals new information of deceased newborn Posted: 03/14/2006 11:25 am LaPorte County, IN - There is new information concerning the body of a newborn found in LaPorte County. Autopsy results show no obvious signs of any blunt force trauma to the baby. The baby's body was discovered Sunday, dumped in a rural wooded area outside rolling prairie. Police now say the infant was a full term birth. Neighbors say the man who discovered the newborn was working on his property when he saw the body in the brush. "This, I would have to assume, must have been a situation where a woman was going to have a baby and she didn't go to a hospital, I don't know," says Shirley Olinger, who lives in the neighborhood where the infant was discovered. "The investigator did say that somebody's hurting, so I don't know if it was indicative of a lot of blood there." The LaPorte County sheriff's office continues to investigate the case. Police are asking for the public's help in locating the birth mother. It is possible that she may need medical assistance. Police say as of Tuesday morning, no local hospitals have had any patients showing symptoms of recent childbirth without having the child in the hospital. http://wndu.com/news/032006/news_48570.php

LaPorte Sheriff's Department still in search of deceased baby's mother Posted: 03/21/2006 12:29 pm LaPorte County, IN - The LaPorte County Sheriff's Office is still looking for the mother of a baby found dead in the northeastern part of the county. Police are looking for the infant's mother, who would have been pregnant the week of March 6th and then given birth before March 12th. Detectives want to talk to the mother to piece together what may have happened, and to get her any physical or mental health help she might need. If you have any information, you are asked to call the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department at 219-326-7700. http://wndu.com/news/032006/news_48708.php

Police continue search for mother of deceased infant Posted: 03/24/2006 05:42 pm LaPorte County, IN - A public plea for help produced no new leads on the recent death of a baby in LaPorte County. On March 12th, the body of an infant was found in a rural wooded area in the northeastern portion of the county. This week, police asked for the public's help in locating a woman who would have been pregnant the week of March 6th, but would have delivered by the 12th. The plea produced no new leads however. Officers have now expanded their request for help, by sending it to media outlets in Niles, Benton Harbor, and Grand Rapids. http://www.wndu.com/news/032006/news_48810.php