HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — More than four months after a newborn baby was found dead inside a portable toilet at the Electric Forest music festival, the investigation into her death remains open.
There have been no arrests, and authorities have not publicly identified the baby’s mother.
FOX 17 reporter Michael Power has the latest on this story in the video below:
The case began June 28, when a maintenance worker discovered the newborn’s body inside a portable toilet in the festival’s camping area in Rothbury.
In early July, investigators received a tip identifying a Muskegon-area woman who had attended the festival and might have information about the case. Michigan State Police said the woman fully cooperated with investigators and was ultimately ruled out as a potential suspect.
The FBI publicly joined Michigan State Police in the investigation on July 13. Authorities also revealed an autopsy determined the baby had been born alive and was medically able to survive outside the womb.
A death certificate filed with the Oceana County Clerk’s Office on July 24 identified the child as a girl and listed her as "Baby Doe." The document indicated she was born and died on or about June 27, one day before her body was discovered. Her age was listed as one minute.
Months later, on October 15, an Oceana County judge appointed Hudsonville resident Travis Byrnes to arrange the baby’s burial.
And on Monday, after months of questions surrounding the little girl’s death, the focus shifted from the investigation to making sure she received a proper goodbye.
A funeral service at Fair Haven Church welcomed anyone who wanted to pay their respects to the girl who was given the name Grace.
For Byrnes, the desire to help began when he first heard her story.
"It just broke me. I wept, and I felt, you know, that I had lost something," Byrnes said. "And this poor little girl... would never be held by a father or a mother, or wake the whole house up in the middle of the night because she was hungry... and it was just heartbreaking."
Byrnes helped make sure Grace would have a proper burial, even giving her the name that strangers would eventually come together to remember.
The parking lot at Fair Haven Church filled with people who had never met Grace but still felt compelled to be there.
Among them was Mary DeClark of Hudsonville.
"To pay my respects for that little girl, Grace, and what a beautiful name she has," DeClark said.
For DeClark, seeing so many other strangers show up carried a message of its own.
"To have someone that's willing to step up and lay this little baby to rest and have this service... It's a God's blessing," she said. "God's here. There's good people that care."
Jaime Aragon Jimenez walked away from the service with a similar feeling.
"That the world is far better than I thought it was," he said. "So that gives me hope."
Those attending were encouraged to write letters that would be buried with Grace. Jimenez was among those who did.
"I felt like my presence wasn't enough, so I wanted to give her something of mine for her to carry with her forever," he said.
Byrnes also gave Grace something deeply personal.
She was buried in a pink onesie that had once belonged to his own daughters.
"She is buried in a pink onesie, but not just any pink onesie, a ruffle-butt pink onesie that both of my daughters wore when they were newborns," Byrnes said. "Every one of those memories are woven in in those threads, and that's the most I could give to her."
Grace was laid to rest at Georgetown Cemetery, where Byrnes made sure she would not rest alone.
He chose a place for her beside his own grandmother, giving the little girl whose life lasted only moments a connection to the family she never had the chance to know.
"I gave her as much family as I could," Byrnes said, "and hopefully wherever she is now, she feels the love that we all have for her."
Michigan State Police and the FBI continue to investigate Grace's death.
The FBI has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
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