A decade-old cold case involving the discovery of a baby’s body in the Mississippi River near Winona may finally be nearing a resolution. In 2011, a family boating on the river found a bag containing the body of a 2-day-old baby girl, wrapped in a T-shirt and surrounded by porcelain angels. Despite efforts to identify her or her mother, the case remained unsolved.
Recently, a nonprofit genetic genealogy company, Firebird Forensics, provided investigators with a possible lead: the name of a Winona woman who could be Baby Angel’s mother. After some hesitation, the woman provided a DNA sample, which is now being analyzed by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
The results of the DNA test are expected in a few weeks. If the test confirms the relationship, it could provide long-awaited closure for the community and investigators who have worked on the case for years.