Stonington Baby Girl Doe Unidentified White Female Newborn
Found July 18, 1983 near Stonington, Northumberland County
Case Details
On Monday, July 18, 1983, two women were walking along a rural road about a mile north of Route 61, halfway between Stonington and Snydertown, when they discovered a brown cloth bag off to the side of the road. Inside the bag, wrapped in plastic, was the body of an infant.
An autopsy performed by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office revealed the child was a full-term caucasian female. She weighed 6 lbs and had dark brown hair. It was determined that she had been breathing after delivery, and had been suffocated.
Despite investigations by both state and county police, the child's mother was never identified.
On Wednesday, August 3, 1983, the baby was buried in a pauper's grave on land owned by the county, between the Odd Fellows Cemetery and the Mountain View Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Coal Township near Shamokin. About 30 people attended the multi-faith service, including State Troopers who donated the flowers for her tiny casket.
Baby Girl Doe's body was exhumed in 1998, but testing on her remains were inconclusive and she was reinterred. On July 13, 2009, she was again exhumed, in the hopes that current DNA technology will help to finally identify her.
Baby Girl Doe's grave marker. The actual date of her death is unknown. The date on the stone is the day after she was originally buried in her pauper's grave.
The cloth bag the baby was found in. It is rectangular, with wooden handles and has the word "bags" printed in rows on either side.
If you have any information about this case, please contact:
Pennsylvania State Police Troop F - Stonington 570-286-5601
