Found September 24, 2007 in Lancaster, Lancaster County
Case Details
It was midday on Monday, September 24, 2007, when someone walking behind the YMCA, in the 500 block of North Market Street in Lancaster, noticed a strong odor coming from a dumpster and called 911. At about 12:30 p.m., police discovered the body of a newborn infant tucked into a tote bag.
The child's body was so badly decomposed that even the gender could not be immediately be determined, but the body, in all likelyhood, was not in the dumpster more than six days, since the dumpster is emptied on Tuesdays.
An autopsy was conducted on Tuesday, September 25 and revealed that the body what that of a newborn female. There were no obvious signs of trauma.
Baby Mary Anne was found in a canvas tote bag similar to the one shown above. The logo on the bag says "PLTA Bermuda 2005". It was a promotional item given out by the Pennsylvania Land Title Association. PLTA is an organization in the King of Prussia area comprised of land title underwriters and agents in the state. Click on the images for a larger view.
The baby girl became Lancaster's adopted child.
Delores Yecker, a former nun and lifelong member of St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Lancaster, named the child "Baby Mary Anne". Mary because that was the name of Jesus's mother and Anne because that was Mary's mother's name. Mary Anne was also Ms Yecker's own grandmother's name.
Baby Mary Anne was buried at St Anthony's Cemetery on Friday, November 9, 2007. The service and funeral were organized by Ms. Yecker, funeral director Charles F. Snyder, who donated the tiny white casket, and the Rev. Daniel Metzel of St. Anthony's Church, who donated the burial site at their cemetery on Ranck Mill Avenue. More than 200 people attended the funeral, giving the child the dignity that had been taken from her when she was so callously thrown away, like the trash she was found in.
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