Who Is "Baby Grace"?

Texas Authorities Try To Identify Young Girl Whose Remains Washed Ashore Last Week

(CBS/AP)  Police in Galveston, Texas, are going through hundreds of tips that have poured in since they released sketches of a young girl whose remains were discovered a week ago inside a storage box that washed ashore on Galveston Bay.

The unidentified child has become known as "Baby Grace" and authorities are still trying to find out her identity.

Her body was found by a fisherman inside a blue plastic utility box that washed ashore along the Intercoastal Waterway

Authorities say forensic dental examination has narrowed the girl's age to between 2 and 3 years. She is described as white, 32 to 35 inches tall and 25 to 30 pounds. She had waist-long, wavy blond or light brown hair. She was wearing a Target-brand pink, flowing skirt, a pink or red shirt and white light-up tennis shoes with purple flowers on them.

"Someone is missing a child," said Dr. Stephen Pustilnik, the Galveston County chief medical examiner. "A grandparent who hasn't seen their grandchild in the last couple of weeks, a playmate who's missing their playmate and hasn't seen him for a while, there's an aunt, there's an uncle someplace, maybe locally, maybe around the state, maybe somewhere around the nation."

The case is bringing grown cops to tears and has captured the hearts of hard-core investigators who are determined to solve the mystery, CBS' The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm reports.

"This is an emotional case for us. Anyway you look at it, cases like this are incredibly emotional," Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.

Residents held a memorial service Sunday to help focus attention on the case.

Attendees gathered around a 4-foot-tall wooden cross bearing the words "In loving Memory of Baby Grace."

After speeches, prayers, songs and poems, attendees took the cross by boat to the small uninhabited island where the child's body was found.

Some people have raised the possibility that the child's body may be that of Madeleine McCann, the 4-year-old British girl whose disappearance from a resort hotel in Portugal in May has made international headlines.

Tuttoilmondo said that was unlikely.

"We are in contact with authorities in Portugal to absolutely rule it out, but we are very, very confident at this point that it's not going to be Madeleine," Tuttoilmondo said.

Local authorities and the FBI are going through missing person reports from across country in an effort to identify the girl.

Galveston County Crime Stoppers set up a memorial fund to pay for her funeral as well as an account to offer a reward for anyone who helps to solve this crime.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the child had been dead for at least two weeks and sustained a skull fracture. The cause of death has not been determined but authorities are treating the case as a homicide.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Galveston County sheriff's Office at 409-766-2222, the agency's tip line at 866-248-8477 or any Crime Stoppers organization.

[vaughn12342]

MY WIFE AND I, WOULD LOVE TO SEE JUSTICE SERVED ON THE BEHALF OF SUCH A LOVELY CHILD. HOW COULD ANYONE BE SO HEARTLESS?; TO MURDER A CHILD. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE. MAY JUSTICE BE SERVED, FULLY.YOU CAN REST NOW BABY GRACE.YOUR IN HEAVEN NOW YOU WELL BE SAFE WITH GOD.

[ashdav-2009]

Different ethnic groups have differently shaped bone structures. Forensic scientists can discern race from the shaping of the skull. They can tell you how someone died and what, if any weapon did it based on markings left on the bones. In fact, they can tell from a woman''s pelvic bone how many children she had. Examiners can look at nothing more than a skull cap and tell you whether it is from a man or a woman.
As far as age, one HUGE indicator, aside from their dental findings, is the fact that the child was found wearing size 2t clothing and 8.5 shoes. My youngest girl is 2 years and 8 months. She wears a size 2t clothing and size 7 shoe and she is very petite for her age at 34" and 26 pounds with hair halfway down her back. It may be important to note that my daughter was born bald as a bowling ball and has never had her hair cut. There is NO WAY baby Grace was older than 3, as those who suggest she could be the Mccann child claim, unless she was a dwarf.It is also VERY possible that she could be reduced to merely bones in 2 weeks. One must consider where she was found. Heat speeds decomposition. For those readers who aren''t squeamish...look up Dr. Bill Bass''s Body Farm. It''s a research facility in Tennesee where they study decomposition. There are numerous actual photographs, so don''t go looking if you get sick easily.

[whatithink-2009]

Squeaky580,

Contrary to popular belief, you don''t have to be all white to have blonde or light brown naturally colored hair. It is because of these assumptions that police descended on the small Morocco town because they assumed a Moroccan can''t have a blonde haired child during the Madeleine McCann case. They were wrong.

[GRPDiver]

What about this poor girl''''s bones tells investigators that she was white? ... I''''m sorry she was killed, but...??? Posted by mrmunsterdan at 10:55 PM : Nov 05, 2007


She has been dead for about two weeks. Not bones, skin. But what? Pay attention.

[typicalmama]

This story touched my heart! What is happening to our world? Children missing, disappearing and any other sad news we hear just breaks my heart! I am fearful for my own kids! It is so difficult on who I can really trust with my kids! I pray that the true identity be found for this child and will always be baby grace! I pray someone will come forward for some clues! My prayers are with this child''s family and the investigators! Best of luck!

[calooreo]

Unbelievable! We need to put these abusers, be they parents or not, away for a whole lifetime. How can we make our Judicial System "step up to the plate" on this issue? This has got to stop somewhere!
also, I think Grace resembles Maddy McCann.

[gmond]

DarlaMcK - have you ever read about a missing child/murder victim who was ugly? People will always equate physical beauty with societal worth, nothing you can do about that.

[eggy1620]

DarlaMcK, these situations would not arise had God not made it possible for any two idiots to get together and produce a child. The very fact that child abuse occurs makes me question my faith. But my belief that these kids are seated at the Lord''s table is the one thing that helps me sleep at night.

[darlamck]

I am very concerned more with the fact that people only make an uproar over CERTAIN children''s deaths.

"how horrific - she''''s described as a very beautiful child. i am so sad for her. i hope and pray the guilty one(s) will be apprehended and dealt with severely". Maybe I am far too sensitive to peoples comments, but I notice that there is more outcry over children that are "beautiful".

In God''s eyes, ALL CHILDREN are beautiful

All child deaths should cause a HUGE outcry.

My site (For the Sake of the Children) contains names of numerous Canadian children that are murdered, abused, missing etc. Each and every one of them deserved an outcry. Yet people love to simply write comments. How many people are DOING something to make sure your justice systems punish people appropriately?

A piece of my heart weeps with the harm of any child. AND the extortion of it.

May all children find SOME peace.

They are our future.

What in God''s name are they being taught if we are not protecting them? The future only promises more children to be considered meaningless, and disposible commodities

[jetlizhan]

how horrific - she''s described as a very beautiful child. i am so sad for her. i hope and pray the guilty one(s) will be apprehended and dealt with severely.