CANTON, Ohio, June 20, 2007

Tests To Show If Baby Is Missing Woman's

DNA Tests On Newborn Girl Done To See If She Belongs To Missing Pregnant Woman

  • Play CBS Video Video Ohio Mom Still Missing

    Jessie Davis went missing a week ago while nine months pregnant. Authorities have yet to clear the father of the child, police officer Bobby Cutts. Teri Okita reports.

  • Video New Info About Missing Mom

    Hannah Storm speaks with criminal profiler Pat Brown about the continued search for Jessie Davis, who disappeared from her Michigan home under suspicious circumstances while nine months pregnant.

    • An image made from a supermarket surveillance camera that the Stark County Sheriff's Dept. says shows Jessie Davis with her 2-year-old son Blake shopping on June 13, 2007.

      An image made from a supermarket surveillance camera that the Stark County Sheriff's Dept. says shows Jessie Davis with her 2-year-old son Blake shopping on June 13, 2007.  (AP)

    • Jessie Marie Davis has been missing since last week.

      Jessie Marie Davis has been missing since last week.  (CBS/The Early Show)

    • Sue Redman, a retired school nurse, describes the size of the basket that held a newborn baby girl she found at the back door of her home, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, in Wooster Township, Ohio.

      Sue Redman, a retired school nurse, describes the size of the basket that held a newborn baby girl she found at the back door of her home, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, in Wooster Township, Ohio.  (AP)

    • Patricia Porter, the mother of Jessie Marie Davis, and Stark County Sheriff Capt. Gary Shankle talk about the investigation.

      Patricia Porter, the mother of Jessie Marie Davis, and Stark County Sheriff Capt. Gary Shankle talk about the investigation.  (CBS/The Early Show)

    Previous slide Next slide
  • Interactive Crime Beat

    Statistics and specifics on crime in America.

(CBS/AP)  Saliva from a toothbrush or a piece of hair from a brush are the most common sources of DNA used in missing persons cases, unless blood is available, said Steven Greene, a deputy superintendent at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

It typically takes five days to complete the analysis, he said.

"It's all very tedious and laborious," Greene said. "They're dealing with very small quantities of material."

Investigators say they have no suspects. On its Web site, the FBI lists the case as a kidnapping. But FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said the label is standard whenever foul play is a possibility and the agency doesn't know if Davis was abducted or not.

She was reported missing on Friday when her mother, Patricia Porter, found her 2-year-old grandson, his diaper dirty, alone at Davis house, some furniture askew. A pool of bleach was on the bedroom floor, and the contents of Davis' purse were scatted in the kitchen. Her cell phone and a comforter were missing.

The FBI said it planned to release details later Wednesday on a reward for information leading to Davis' whereabouts.

The father of Davis' son and unborn girl is Canton police patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr., who authorities say is cooperating in the search for Davis.

Cutts told a newspaper he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance and that he has slept little and had no appetite since she vanished.

"The last five days have been a nightmare. It won't end," Cutts told The Repository.

Cutts, who also has two children with his wife, Kelly, said he and his wife are separated but have not filed for divorce and that she knew he had a relationship with Davis.

He said he last spoke with Davis at 8 p.m. on June 13, about 90 minutes before she spoke with her mother.

On Wednesday, a representative from a Texas volunteer search group planned to meet with Davis' family and investigators in Ohio to determine if the group can help, said Cindy Wisdom, a case manager with Texas EquuSearch. The group has been involved in some high-profile missing persons cases, including the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Alabama, who was reported missing in Aruba in 2005.


© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 142 Comments
by goodgrief8 June 22, 2007 7:13 PM EDT
mormonman1, I don't know if you are playing a sick joke for a reaction or if you actually believe this but god knows I have even a greater reason to slam the door in the faces of mormons now. sadly you people have nothing better to do than go door to door selling your bull****. obviously you are no man and certainly not a parent. aren't yo supposed to be out recruiting into your cult or something?
Reply to this comment
by goodgrief8 June 22, 2007 1:47 PM EDT
enrapturelj, God didn't write the bible a bunch of men did, sorry I have been reading all the comments out of curiosity and felt that needed to be said because saying god literally wrote the bible is a tad ignorant in itself. I hope she is found safe, or at the very least her child-its a human life missing and race plays no part whatsoever. She is somebodies daughter, sister and mother.
Reply to this comment
by wiccantexan June 22, 2007 12:32 PM EDT
From another news source:

When Porter (Jessie's mom) was asked Friday by NBC's "Today" show if she considered Cutts a suspect, she replied: "Yes, he's a suspect."

"I still pray that it's not him," she added. "That doesn't mean that I don't think he's a suspect, as well."

"It's a very emotional roller coaster feeling for me because he is my grandson's father," she said. "I'm hoping and praying for the best. I just want to find my daughter."

Porter added that if someone did harm her daughter, she hopes it was a stranger.

"This is the most painful part of this whole thing for me is that I pray every day that it's not Bobby Cutts, that it's my prayer that it's not him," she told CNN. "I want it to be someone that doesn't even know us."
Reply to this comment
by wiccantexan June 22, 2007 12:17 PM EDT
Or she died giving birth. Cutts was so beside himself that all he could do is wrap Jessie up in the rug looking blanket and take her and the baby somewhere. Out of not knowing what else to do with the baby, he delivered (or had delivered) the baby to a well known nurse's doorsteps.Posted by currentnews at 03:48 PM : Jun 20, 2007

This would entail him being out of town during all this timeframe, which he hasn't been. He's been in town with police and the investigation.
Reply to this comment
by wiccantexan June 22, 2007 12:14 PM EDT
And as a Christian I do believe that she has evoked eternal damnation for her fornicating, adulterous ways. Posted by enrapturelj at 05:27 PM : Jun 20, 2007

And God so loved Blake that he let him (probably) see the whole crime, forever scarring his baby heart and taking his mother away. What was your point exactly?
Reply to this comment
by wiccantexan June 22, 2007 12:11 PM EDT
Why are they waiting on the DNA test? The clock is ticking for Jessie, if she's still alive. The baby's ID could be a valuable clue.
Reply to this comment
by annia1233 June 22, 2007 1:23 AM EDT
what I can not get over is how these people that talk and make the racial disparity distinction can see any difference between a woman and a man that love eachother. If she got two children from this guy, it is because she considered him her partner. hat do you all know about their relationship and what type of father he was?
I just get frustrated when people see nothing but color. I am in a biracial relationship. the color is irrelevant, the culture is irrelevant. I understand this person so well that even if my partner was a martian, my partner would be mine. Because it is just a relation of people, no colors.
Reply to this comment
by bethoughtful June 21, 2007 5:55 PM EDT
Has anyboby put themselves in the place of this mother or father? If this was your daughter missing would you want people to set around and analyze what may or may not have happened. What you should be doing is praying to God that maybe she's alive or that maybe just maybe if she is dead that the baby is hers so that aleast this family could would have a bittersweet ending. Regardless this is a sad situation and we all should be more thougtful of the people involved.
Reply to this comment
by currentnews June 21, 2007 12:25 PM EDT
To CarlyLaine the racist.

Save your racist comments for when you go to Hell. There you can discuss your lowlife uneducated simpleminded opinions with Hitler, and Satan can supply the refreshments.
Reply to this comment
by daniel2alex June 21, 2007 11:57 AM EDT
First of all, you have a beautiful young women missing and her beautiful little boy's life shattered and all you can talk about is she shouldn't have dated a black man!!! What if it was your "white" daughter? I bet if she was missing, the fact that she had a "black" boyfriend would be the least of your conerns. Second, concerning the reports that the baby is white and not bi-racial. How many black babies have theses people seen born? I've seen many and they all "look" white for the first week to first few months until their unique skin tone is developed. People and the media are so stupid!
Reply to this comment
by nishaboston June 21, 2007 11:37 AM EDT
Carly:

You have a right to be a racist? I guess you have the right to be a dumb idiot to. You must be one of the dumbest person on earth to brag about being a racist. My God how could you even brag about something like that, at least the KKK hide under their white robes.
Being a racist is nothing to be proud of, it just shows your a coward.
The woman was white and her childs father was black. So what!!!!! Look at Scott and Laci Peterson they were both white. You see Carly I know you are an idiot, but men killing their girlfriends/wives happen all the time. By the way they come in all races.
Get a clue dumb dumb.
Reply to this comment
by jennmarie620 June 21, 2007 11:26 AM EDT
As I was reading this, something hit me that just made me so angry at the media.

Hypothetical: This young woman is in the process of being kidnapped, so she "accidently" spills her purse and pockets her cellphone to try and call for help later or have police triangulate her position through cellphone signal, like they did to find that poor girl's body in Kansas? The media just let whoever has this woman know that she has a cellphone, if they didn't already.

The media is putting WAY too much information into their stories these days without any thought to what providing that information could mean to people's lives.

I do hope that by some miracle, this woman is found alive and the baby is alright and they get to come home soon. But, I also understand the odds against that are great.
Reply to this comment
by whatithink-2009 June 21, 2007 10:59 AM EDT
CarlyLaine,

If you have a right to be a racist, then others have a right to complain about racism. You can't have it both ways. You can't say you have a right to be a racist and then say that others have no right to say that someone is a racist. If you don't want people to use a race card, then you should not use a race card. Lead by example.

Unfortunately, your post just shows how superficial you are. The only thing that you can determine by looking at someone is what race they are (and sometimes that is not always clear). You can't determine their character or convictions. All you can do is wrap them around your own ill-conceived concepts of what they must be based on what race they are.
Reply to this comment
by carlylaine June 21, 2007 9:34 AM EDT
We have a right to be a racist. We CAN look at skin color and make determinations. We are free to do that.

What changes at this point is that we don't have a right to hurt people because of racism.
Reply to this comment
by nishaboston June 21, 2007 8:49 AM EDT
Whatithink:

I agree with you 100%. That is why I say people need to leave race out of it. THis is a white woman who had a black lover so people feel the need to bring up race. Some people have said she should not have dated a black guy, but I guess they have not heard of Laci & Scott Peterson who were both white. I know this is hard to ask but I wish people who make comments could forget about the persons skin color. But that will never happen.
The woman choice to date a black man she obviously had no problem with it so I don't see why people are making a big issue out of his skin color. Like if she dated a white man there would be a less chance she would have been murdered. Very stupid idea.
Reply to this comment
by whatithink-2009 June 21, 2007 8:44 AM EDT
Nishaboston,

Although I agree with you (race should not play a part), the circus value of these type of stories have everything to do with race (and probably class). If this woman was from some inner city neighborhood or some Spanish barrio, I don't think anyone would spend so much time on it. People are getting killed every day in cities and nobody seems to care. The media does seem to revolve around cases like this and Natalie Holloway (sp?) and Laci Peterson, etc.

I'm only going by what I see.
Reply to this comment
by nishaboston June 21, 2007 8:32 AM EDT
Would you people leave race out of this. People from all races have killed. Grow the hell up. THis has nothing to do with race a woman might be been murdered for crying out loud and all some of you people can talk about is the color of Her and her childs father skin color. Again Grow up!!!!!
Reply to this comment
by whatithink-2009 June 21, 2007 6:59 AM EDT
The news is no longer the news. People quote opinions as facts. Speculation is the new news. Everyone can be Sherlock Holmes. These type of stories become some sick reality program. Life is a circus and ratings are the cotton candy.
Reply to this comment
by whatithink-2009 June 21, 2007 6:50 AM EDT
darkmeat4,

The first part of your post does not match the last part of your post, which leads me to believe that you are not a person of color but someone pretending to be a person of color. This sounds like a post from a white male who wants white women to believe that men of color are trying to get back at something in the past.
Reply to this comment
by gaizzer-2009 June 21, 2007 4:45 AM EDT
just an idea! pay close attention to video cameras in stores, pharmacy's, anywheres a mom would be at, buying new baby supplies ect....could be a woman attacker as well as a man attacker; wanting a newborn for herself! as far as the cop goes in this very sad story, ask him to take a lie detector test! my hear and prayers go out to the family and extended family's of this lady. i pray for a happy ending, but the odds are against it, being that it is so long now.
Reply to this comment
See all 142 Comments

Exclusive Webshow

Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie." Watch Now

Latest News
News in Pictures
Scroll Left Scroll Right
Connect with CBS News

Stay connected with the CBS News using your favorite social networks and online news applications: