1 year later, police still searching for Baby Hope's parents
Police are asking the public for its continued help in finding Baby Hope's parents a year after her body was found abandoned in an unincorporated area near Wheaton.
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary since the infant was found in a backpack on a private drive off Plamondon Road. The DuPage County coroner's office confirmed Baby Hope took at least one breath before she died, according to the a news release from the DuPage County sheriff's office Tuesday.
"The loss of life is always sad and tragic, but the loss of a baby and the manner in which she was abandoned has left an indelible mark on all of us at the Sheriff's Office and the community," the release read.
Amid the sheriff's office's ongoing investigation, officials are asking for the public's help identifying and locating Baby Hope's parents. Composites of the newborn's mother and father were developed using a $12,300 DNA test in October 2016. Based on the DNA test results, both of Baby Hope's parents are of Latino descent.
Baby Hope was put to rest Sept. 22, 2016, at St. Michael Cemetery in Wheaton, surrounded by tearful strangers and officers dedicated to finding her parents.
The Illinois State Crime Commission is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and location of Baby Hope's parents. The DuPage County sheriff's office also has released photos of the backpack in which her body was found, and have asked anyone who recognizes it to come forward.
Throughout the past year, strangers' love for the baby girl has flooded in. Hope's Garden was erected in her memory on Winfield Township Road District property at 30W575 Roosevelt Road. Hope's Garden provides criminal offenders sentenced to the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program the opportunity to be productive by planting vegetables and maintaining the garden. The sheriff's office already has donated to local food pantries the first produce harvested from the garden.
An Autumn Blaze Maple Tree facing a playground in Seven Gables Park in Wheaton also was dedicated to Baby Hope's memory. A plaque beneath the tree reminds visitors that hospitals and fire and police stations are safe havens, where newborns can be surrendered with no questions asked. Since lawmakers passed the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act in 2001, 119 babies have been left at safe havens and 79 were illegally abandoned. Baby Hope was one of 41 illegally abandoned infants who died, advocates say.
Anyone with information can confidentially submit a tip by calling (630) 407-2400, or text 274637 with the message SHERIFF, followed by the tip. The DuPage County sheriff's office also can be reached via Facebook and Twitter.
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