TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Landfill Search For Baby Continues

ADVERTISEMENT

By Joe  Seelig | Highlands Today

Published: November 29, 2007

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office with a multi-agency contingent of help resumed its search at the county landfill Thursday morning for a discarded baby.

Investigators began the third day of searching a 60-foot-by-100-foot section of landfill in Cell 3-A for a possible fetus or full-term baby reportedly thrown out by a 24-year-old Lake Placid woman after she had it about 1 a.m. Nov. 23, in her home.

On Monday, roommates alerted authorities when they saw evidence of blood and questioned her about what happened. Detectives immediately began an investigation.

Sheriff Susan Benton said Wednesday that deputies were having a briefing on the case and establishing a work order for the day. Giving Wednesday's search dog teams a break, fresh cadaver search dogs from Orange, Osceola and Martin counties arrived to aid in Thursday's search, she said.

Sgt. Sanford Shirk, supervisor of forensic science with the Martin County Sheriff's Office, was called in to provide some of his 25 years of experience to the operation. He's been called often to crime scenes involving violent deaths including 16 days at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center. His work has included digging through landfills.

"We worked two homicides which involved a dig at the county landfill," he said, catching his breath in a shaded barn. "We had to grid it off. They called for me to come over and help formulate a plan on how to go about the monumental task that lies ahead.

"The longer it takes, it seems the results are not as good. It could be all over quickly or it could last for days or weeks."

The sheriff said she also has had offers of help from Brevard and Sarasota counties.
By, 11:30 a.m., investigators were regrouping and "taking a new approach," Benton said. "They're going to be moving the garbage to a clean area to be going through it by hand."

That part of the investigation should begin Friday morning, according to sheriff's Capt. Randy LaBelle, who was stationed Thursday at the sheriff's command center outside the landfill office.
He said there were five cadaver K-9 search teams on scene.

Friday, the search will be kicked up a notch adding 50 to 60 personnel to begin the hands-on search in six-hour shifts. Dozens of rakes arrived at the command center Thursday afternoon providing the searchers with much-needed hand tools.

With the cooperation of Bill Nichols, Emergency Management director, as many as 250 volunteer firefighters may be available to supplement law enforcement in the search, LaBelle said.
An approaching cold front could provide some welcome relief.

"We have outside agencies wanting to come out," he said. "There will probably be people out here from the rest of the state; Pinellas, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Jacksonville, well that's Duval County and Polk. Once we see what we need we will reach out to them.

"Plus (cadaver) dogs will be out with them on each shift."

LaBelle said two FEMA trailers the sheriff's office obtained were being brought out to provide extra command center space for the additional personnel.

Benton said at the very least it is a misdemeanor to dispose of human remains in this manner, however it could range from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on what is found.

Cadaver search teams were dispatched Thursday morning to the Sarasota Street address to search and rule out the baby could have been buried or disposed of there. Nothing of interest was found, LaBelle said.

At the very least the woman should have contacted law enforcement or EMS and let authorities take appropriate actions, LaBelle said.

Landfill Operations Manager Richard "Dick" Gorman said Thursday that as a result of the search, in order to maintain a somewhat normal operation of the facility, it had to start dropping the loads in a different section.

"They may broaden the search area a little bit," Gorman said.

He explained that the trash loads tend to spread out a little bit after being dropped from the compactor trucks, pushed by a bulldozer and spread and compacted with an 84,000 pound compacting machine.
LaBelle had high praise for the landfill staff in aiding in the search.

Continue to check back for updates in this developing story.

Highlands Today reporter Mandy Sheets contributed to this story.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT