Police: Baby found dead in wooded area in Kansas City, Mo.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV/Gray News) – Police are searching for leads after the body of a baby was found in a wooded area in Kansas City, Missouri.

Police were dispatched at 7:45 p.m. Saturday to a wooded area near East 41st Street and Pittman Road. The 911 caller had been in the woods and located what they believed to be a dead body.

Officers determined the body was that of a baby. They do not yet know the baby’s age, gender or name, KCTV reports.

“This is a situation where we want to devote every resource we have,” said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a police spokesman, during a Sunday media briefing. “The biggest thing is that we know there are people in the community that know what happened here. There has to be. There is no other explanation for it.”

Police say this is a death investigation at this time. However, a full host of investigators and detectives processed the scene and gathered evidence, so they can proceed in any manner necessary depending on the final results of the medical examiner’s determination.

“Today, on Mother’s Day, there is at least one mother who is without their baby,” Becchina said. “Those people know who they are, and they have the answers that investigators need.”

Detectives will work closely in conjunction with the medical examiner’s officer to answer many questions, such as the cause and manner of the baby’s death.

Becchina says the investigation will be difficult unless someone comes forward with information.

“There are connections that adult people make. There’s technology that they carry with them. There’s all sorts of things that can aid an investigation if they turn up dead. A small baby doesn’t have that,” Becchina said. “Right now, this baby is relying on somebody that knows something to come forward.”

Police are asking for anyone who has information on this case to contact the Homicide Unit directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.

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