Unidentified Baby Girl "Baby Angel" - X age - Winona MN

A porcelain figure found with the body of a baby girl from Minnesota
who was dumped in the Mississippi River originated from a Belleville
missionary group.
According to investigators with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Winona County Sheriff's
Office, boaters found the body of an infant girl on September 5 in a
plastic bag, near Winona. Several items had been placed in the bag with
the baby, including a t-shirt, a canvas bag, and several porcelain
figures.



One of those figures, an angel figurine, was traced to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Belleville, Illinois.

Police are asking for the public's help in the case in order to
locate the baby's mother. The BCA suspects the mother gave birth
unassisted, and that she still needs some kind of medical attention or
mental health resources.

Authorities are also awaiting autopsy results to learn how the baby girl died.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Winona County Sheriff's Office tip line at 507-457-6530.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/crime/article/280876/147/Evidence-in-Minnesota-dead-baby-case-connects-to-Belleville

Origin of figurine found with Baby Angel identified (10/12/2011)
By Sarah Squires

State investigators are zooming in on the origin of a porcelain angel found with a dead newborn discovered in the Mississippi River six miles south of Winona on Labor Day.

The newborn baby girl, now known as “Angel,” has been the subject of a major investigation since a family discovered her body while boating on September 1. The seven-pound newborn was found wrapped in a men’s size large T-shirt, inside two garbage bags and then put into a canvas bag with the Mexican resort city “Manzanillo” scrawled in glittery gold lettering across the front. Inside the bag was a bracelet decorated with seeing eyes along with four porcelain angels, one of which has provided what may become a significant lead.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating the case, and filed a search warrant in Illinois seeking a list of those who may have purchased one of the angel figurines, or any businesses which may have sold the porcelain items. BCA investigators discovered that the angel was made for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Belleville, Ill., sold through a catalogue in 2000. The small angel carries an inscription that states the year, as well as “The year of the lord” written in Latin on the tiny statue.

BCA Public Information Officer Jill Oliveira said investigators are still hopeful that the child’s mother will be found, adding that officials would like to ensure the woman receives proper medical or mental health treatment.

“There are a lot of things that we don’t know at this point,” said Oliveira. Investigators are still hoping that someone out there is willing to come forward and help identify Angel’s mother. “If you have any information about these items, any information about someone you know who fits these criteria, we want to hear from you,” she said.

Oliveira said that autopsy work has not yet been completed, and officials still cannot confirm the newborn’s ethnicity. Investigators are following up on many tips received since the child was discovered, and are also examining the items found with the baby for fingerprints or other clues.

Baby Angel is one of four infants found in the Mississippi in recent years, with three others discovered in Goodhue County upstream between 1999 and 2007. BCA officials have said there is nothing that would link this infant with the children found upstream, but are working closely with officials to the north in case DNA tests show any connection.

This baby girl was found very quickly, officials have said. The family that discovered the bag by chance actually turned their boat around after becoming curious over the canvas tote floating in the water, and the bag was just beginning to sink when they fished it from the river.

BCA Senior Special Agent Drew Evans said at a recent press conference that this child was very recently born. And although he would not confirm whether an umbilical cord was present, he said it was clear this baby was delivered unassisted and unattended -- likely, a mother alone.

An autopsy will likely tell officials several things -- whether the baby was born alive, and whether she was alive when she was put into the river. “Regardless of what the autopsy shows we still want to be able to find [the mother] to better understand what happened,” said Oliveira. “We want to reach out to her.”

Minnesota has a Safe Place for Newborns law that requires hospitals to train all employees as to how to accept a newborn baby anonymously. A newborn baby can be brought to any hospital in Minnesota, no questions asked, an effort to provide options for young women who may be too scared to come forward with a newborn.

Anyone with information on Baby Angel is urged to call 507-457-6530. Tips can be given anonymously.

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