VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Police made a gruesome discovery almost 20 years ago when a baby was found dead, wrapped in a polo shirt inside the Lillian Vernon Warehouse in Virginia Beach.
Now police are putting in new efforts to find the infant’s mother.
News 3 first brought you this story two decades ago.
Digitally reconstructed picture of the shirt the infant was found in (Courtesy: VBPD)
The warehouse is now closed but people are still trying to figure out what happened to the baby, who they think was born inside the warehouse.
It happened just before Christmas in 1996.
A security guard at the Lillian Vernon Warehouse stumbled upon a shirt that looked like this inside of the women locker room.
News 3 interviewed him when this first happened.
He said, "When I touched it, it felt like a piece of meat and I came so close to carrying that thing out the door and into the trash. It’s just unbelievable.”
Police think she had been there for several days.
They think the mother gave birth inside the warehouse because security was so tight. They don’t think someone could have brought the baby inside.
Police were never able to find the mom.
But since 1996, there have been a lot of advances in technology.
Recently they’ve collected DNA from several women in an effort to eliminate potential mothers.
At the time there were 4,000 employees and now they’re looking to talk to other employees and take DNA swabs from more women.
Detective Angela Curran with the Virginia Beach Police Department said, "Someone out there knows what happened and who the mother may been. We don't know the circumstances what she was going though at the time. We need to know who she is to give the baby a name."
The little girl had black hair and they’re still working to figure out her race.
She was just 5 or 6 pounds.
"It's heartbreaking to know that that little baby was born in there and she doesn't have a name," said Curran.
Police say she had only been deceased for a few days before being found.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
