DPD Searching For Mother After Fetus Found In H.S. Bathroom
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - An investigation continues at a Dallas high school where a fetus was found in the girls bathroom Friday afternoon.
Detectives with the Dallas Police Department's Child Abuse Unit are investigating.
Authorities are looking for the girl who they believe gave birth inside Woodrow Wilson High School. The school has surveillance cameras on the inside and outside of the building. CBS 11 News sources say detective are now reviewing video to try and help them find the birth mother or identify witnesses. That could be a tough task since the school has nearly 1,600 students.
Dallas police also interviewed teachers to see if they could possibly know who the mother may be.
CBS 11 spoke with some students after they were released from school and they said they knew, by the police presence, something clearly was wrong. Students were not initially told about the incident.
Staffers were called to an upstairs bathroom around 2:30 p.m. Friday. It was there that a deceased fetus had been discovered inside a bathroom stall. According to teens at the school, it was a student who alerted a worker.
"I think that there was somebody that had notified a custodian of a situation in a restroom," explained Dallas Independent School District spokesperson Jon Dahlander. "The custodian went and then made the discovery."
DISD officials say the worker contacted the school principal. "What was found was what appears to be a fetus, or what has been confirmed to be a fetus," Dahlander said. "We have been in the process of trying to notify parents to let them know about this."
Dallas police interviewed teachers to see if they could possibly know who the mother may be.
It was after 6 p.m. when Dallas police carried the tiny body out in a black duffle bag, placing it carefully in the back of an ambulance.
Just after 5 p.m. the school district issued the following statement:
"Dallas ISD is deeply saddened by the situation that occurred today at Woodrow Wilson High School. This afternoon, responding medical authorities determined that a human fetus had been found in a girls restroom at the school. The Dallas Police Department, assisted by Dallas ISD Police, is handling the investigation.
Dallas ISD immediately dispatched staff from the district's Psychological Services Department to the school to provide professional support for students and staff members. Additional counseling support will continue to be available next week. The district encourages any member of the Woodrow Wilson community to utilize these services.
Dallas ISD is in the process of notifying parents and guardians of Woodrow students via the school's webpage and SchoolMessenger phone system. The district encourages parents and families to discuss the situation with their students, and when appropriate, encourage their students to meet with counseling staff at the school.
Dallas ISD will continue to provide additional support and resources to the school community during this difficult time."
The Dallas Independent School District is continually preparing its more than 159,000 students for college or a career. Through our Destination 2020 effort, we'll invest in our people, focus more on the classroom, strengthen our systems and engage the community. To learn more, visit dallasisd.org."
Christine Kerry was upset parents weren't told why police had swarmed in at the school. "I got out [of her car] and specifically asked, 'what's going on and is it safe for the kids to be out here?' and I was told to go away."
Police say they don't know how far along the mother's pregnancy may have been, but they want to know the circumstances of how it ended.
Anyone with information about the incident is being urged to contact Dallas police.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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