Mother sought after baby found dead in porta-potty at Michigan music festival

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Hearing over remains of infant found at Electric Forest

Hearing over remains of infant found at Electric Forest

HART, Mich. (WOOD) — A Michigan man told a judge he considers himself a “net under the bridge” to ensure a proper burial for a baby girl found dead in a porta-potty at the Electric Forest Music Festival.

Travis Byrnes, of Ottawa County, testified in Oceana County Probate Court in Hart on Thursday, an early step in the Good Samaritan’s effort to secure a dignified burial for the infant.

The hearing comes as detectives make progress in their search for the baby’s mother, according to Oceana County prosecutor Joseph Bizon, who receives updates from Michigan State Police. 

“Based on what we have accomplished so far in the investigation — I should say the detectives because they’re the ones doing the work — we are very confident we’ll be able to make an identification at some point,” Bizon told Nexstar WOOD. “We have every reason to believe the detectives are on the right path in getting to where we need to be.”

State Police have been tight-lipped about the investigation, but it’s likely that forensic genetic genealogy will play a role in identifying the infant’s parents, despite the FBI’s offer in mid-July of a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“This case is progressing in a positive path forward towards where we want to be,” said Bizon. “We do believe we’re going to be able to resolve this.”

It’s a painstaking process; genealogists build the infant’s family tree in reverse by comparing her DNA against millions of samples uploaded to ancestry websites by people tracing their roots who’ve agreed to allow police access.

“The detectives are very familiar with the........

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