Baby Agnes Doe
Unidentified White Female Newborn
Found February 5, 1987 in Antis-Bellwood, Blair County
Case Details
On Thursday, February 5, 1987, the partial remains of an infant baby girl were found in the yard of a home on Kerbaugh Road in Antis Township. The child had been stuffed into a plastic bag.
Police theorize that the infant had been disposed of in the nearby woods where a dog had found her. When the baby was discovered, a significant portion of her tiny body was gone. While gender was not readily apparent, an autopsy determined that the remains were those of a white female infant. Despite extensive testing, her exact cause of death was not determined, but it is believe she lived for about two days.
Several months after her death, the Tyrone Knights of Columbus asked for and were given permission to give the child a proper burial. They chose the name Agnes for her, after the Roman Catholic Saint Agnes, who is considered the patron saint of little girls.
Baby Agnes was laid to rest in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Tyrone on June 20, 1987. An error in measuring for the plot was made and an unclaimed spot was found. The small area was developed into "The Home of the Holy Innocent", an area to accept Baby Agnes and other unwanted babies so that they wouldn't have to have a pauper's grave.
Each year since she was found, the Respect for Life March has been held, starting at St Matthew Church in Tyrone and ending 1.25 miles away at Baby Agnes' gravesite.
"I think possibly this little child accomplished more in the two days she lived than many will in a lifetime, for she affected so many people"....Father J. Joseph Strittmatter, June 20, 1987.
Twenty years after her discovery, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Charles Aungst renewed efforts to identify the baby girl, publicizing her case in the local media in the hopes that someone would come forward, but Baby Agnes Doe's identity still remains unknown.
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