Law enforcement officers are asking for help in identifying a dead infant found at a waste facility in Central New York.
Authorities say they found the body of a female infant, believed to be about one to two weeks old, at the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority Wednesday morning.
“The Oneida Herkimer Waste facility handles five counties. They all have different drop schedules. They all have different recycling schedules. They all have different trucks that come in. All part of that is going to be a very thorough investigation,” said Capt. Michael Curley, Utica Police Department.
Curley says the infant was found in the recycling portion of the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority. He says it’s still very early in the investigation.
“We are partnering with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York State Police to have a genealogy test if needed. Sometimes it takes a considerable amount of time. And that is assuming that the birth parent had something in a system that could be recordable,” said Curley.
“Anyone going through similar circumstances, having difficulty with pregnancies, with childbearing, or that fact that you may be pregnant and having a child in unwanted circumstances, please turn it over to a safe location. You will not be prosecuted in New York state. It protects you in that matter, and the child’s safety is the foremost thing we need to worry about in all those situations.”
Utica Police Chief Mark Williams is making a public plea.
“This baby girl deserves proper burial and an identity,” he said. “So I would make a plea to the birth mother of this child, please come forward. We’d like to hear your story. Maybe you’re scared, maybe you’re desperate, but we need to know what happened here.”
The department is urging the public to use Crime Stoppers tip if they have any information.