Minnesota investigators ID baby found dead in box 35 years ago

SHERBURNE COUNTY, Minn. — Minnesota investigators on Thursday closed a decades-old case without filing charges.

On April 23, 1989, a baby girl was discovered dead inside a box by the roadside in Santiago Township in Sherburne County.

The case remained unsolved for more than 35 years as investigators were unable to identify the baby or her parents.

Last year, Sherburne County investigators revisited the case with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI.

Investigators say they were able to use DNA to identify the mother, who, in interviews, admitted to concealing her pregnancy and the birth from her family. She told authorities that the baby was not alive at birth and that, in a state of panic, she did not know how to handle the situation.

The original 1989 autopsy and re-examination done last year could not definitely determine if the baby had been born alive. Sherburne County officials say that two pathologists believe the baby was likely stillborn.

Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney reviewed the case earlier this month before closing the case, citing the statute of limitations.

In 1989, the Sherburne County Coroner's Office arranged a burial for the baby but the sheriff's office says that despite "extensive efforts to locate the records showing where the child was buried," they have not had success.

Anyone with information about where the baby is buried is asked to contact the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office at 763-765-3500.