"Baby Hope" Laid To Rest In Wheaton; Authorities Still Seek Parents
CHICAGO (CBS) -- DuPage County officials say they are not giving up trying to find the parents of an infant found dead along a Wheaton road last month.
Baby Hope, as she was named by the DuPage County Sheriff's Office, was buried on Thursday at St. Michael's Cemetery in Wheaton.
Dozens of people are said to have attended the burial ceremony, including the landscaper who found the baby's body in a backpack on the side of Plamondon Road near Wheaton.
DuPage County Coroner Dr. Richard Jorgensen was among those who attended, and says it was emotional.
"As a father and as a person, this has weighed on me and I am very, very happy and relieved that we were able to give Baby Hope a dignified burial," he says.
Jorgensen says investigators still have Baby Hope's DNA and hope to one day be able to match it to one of the girl's parents, who have still gone unidentified.
"DNA evidence now, a miniscule amount of tissue can be adequate for proper DNA investigation; and we have any tissue or any evidence that we believe that we need," Jorgensen says.
The coroner's office has not yet determined a cause of death, but Jorgensen says there were no signs of foul play. He says a final determination of cause of death could come in the next few weeks.
