387UMNC - Unidentified Male

Identified...Identified...Identified

Image 1: Sketch of the infant by Wesley Neville; Image 2: Age Progression; Images 3 & 4: Composites of the couple seen near the area.

Date of Discovery: March 3, 1999
Location of Discovery: Cumberland County, North Carolina
Estimated Date of Death: EDD
State of Remains: Unknown
Cause of Death: Homicide by severe blunt force trauma to the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvic area.

Physical Description

Estimated Age: Newborn
Race: White or Native
Gender: Male
Height: Unknown
Weight: 7 lbs.
Hair Color: Full head of dark hair.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Medium complected.

Identifiers

Dentals: Not available
Fingerprints: Not available
DNA: Mother's profile entered into FBI CODIS.

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery

On March 3, 1999, the body of a full term, newborn infant boy was found in a large black plastic bag, which also contained the placenta, on Canady Pond Road, directly in front of the Shady Acres Rodeo Ranch. The bag appeared to have wrapped around the baby's legs after he rolled out of it. The trash bag is not an ordinary trash bag. It measures 35 inches in width and 55 inches in length, and because of it's size it is considered a drum liner.

The baby was either intentionally thrown from a moving vehicle or the bag unintentionally fell from the moving vehicle. The injuries were inflicted prior to the baby being deposited on the road and were too severe to have come from impact on the highway. The mother left behind not only DNA, but also a pubic hair which was brown in color. The pubic hair may have come from a Caucasian or Lumbee Indian female. The mother took care of herself during pregnancy because of the weight of the baby and the lack of alcohol and drugs in the baby’s blood. She may/may not have needed medical attention after birth and may have suffered from severe blood loss. The baby was not born in a medical center.

The day before the baby was discovered, a witness remembered seeing a couple acting very distraught in a nearby clinic. The woman, who was pregnant at the time, became anxious, according to deputies, when a doctor told her she needed to go to the hospital for a specific maternity test. That same night, between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. EDT, a witness saw a car parked on the side of Highway 87 near Canady Pond Road. The witness said a slender white male was behind the wheel of the car and a pregnant white female was in the passenger seat. The couple told the witness they were fine and the witness left the scene. Highway 87 and Canady Pond Road, the location of the baby's body, are in close proximity.

Shortly after finding the baby, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office decided to call him Baby Michael after Saint Michael, Patron Saint of Law Enforcement. The child was laid to rest in a cemetery in Linden.

The man who discovered the baby's body erected a cross at the discovery site. In 2011, on the anniversary of Baby Michael's discovery, the man went to the site to plant a rose bush and discovered that the cross had been knocked down and broken.

The case remains open.

Canady Pond Road is a rural road in Cumberland County, approximately 4 miles outside of Fayetteville and 5 miles from Exit 41 on Interstate 95.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Cumberland County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Detective Disponzio
Agency Phone Number: 910-677-5490
Agency E-Mail: spennica(at)ccsonc.org
Agency Case Number: 1999-03101

Agency Name: Fayetteville/Cumberland Crimestoppers
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 910-483-8477
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown

NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: Not listed

Information Source(s)

Baby Michael: Unidentified Wiki
Cumberland County Sheriff's Office
America's Most Wanted
WRAL News: Cross damaged at site where infant's body found (March 3, 2011)

Admin Notes

Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 5/8/16