Detectives hope to solve discarded baby cold case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Detectives still have little information about the death of an infant whose body was found decaying a year ago.

Crime scene investigators gathered evidence April 26, 2004, after a Kansas City Power & Light Co. worker in Platte County came across the body of a newborn boy sticking out of a plastic bag. Other clues have surfaced; detectives found a woman's earring inside the bag, and people have called in tips. But the case has been getting cold, and police hope the anniversary will stir up leads.

"This kid has been forgotten, and it is still an open case," said Sgt. David Bernard. "Maybe someone will remember someone who was pregnant and never saw a child. Somebody knows something."

The unidentified infant is now being called Precious Joe. In April 2001 a little girl dubbed Precious Doe was found decapitated in a wooded area in Kansas City. The killer stuffed her head in a trash bag.

That murder brought the community together with volunteers, contributions for reward money, and prayer vigils. Groups held a funeral and erected a memorial to her. But the girl's identity and her killer remain a mystery.

The community did not rally around Precious Joe in the same way, according to Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd.

"Like Precious Doe, the unsolved death of this child will probably only be solved if someone with information about this baby steps forward," Zahnd said.

Precious Joe's remains are kept at the Jackson County medical examiner's office. Medical examiners said the newborn was a white male who probably was not born in a hospital. Authorities said it was likely that a woman gave birth and discarded the child along the rural highway.

Investigators have talked to several women who they thought had some connection to Precious Joe but had no luck.

"I believe someone knows what happened to this baby and how and why he was placed in this location," Zahnd said.