Police Flooded With "Baby Grace" Tips

FBI, Texas Authorities Follow Leads To Identify Child Remains Discovered In Galveston Bay

(CBS/AP)  Investigators on Monday said at least two dozen girls reported missing from across the country match the physical description of the child investigators have named "Baby Grace."

Investigators were pursuing 170 active leads and on Monday were conducting follow-up interviews with people who had given promising clues, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said, according to the Galveston County Daily News.

Hundreds of tips from around the country have poured in since authorities released sketches of the unidentified child on Friday. A fisherman found the toddler's body a week ago along the Intercoastal Waterway.

Residents held a memorial service to help focus attention on the case of "Baby Grace," the young girl whose remains were discovered inside a storage box that washed ashore on Galveston Bay.

Attendees to Sunday's memorial service 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.

"This is not the place to end this little girl's life," said Tuttoilmondo. "We won't quit until we figure it out."

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.

Several callers believe that the child's body may be that of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl whose disappearance from a resort hotel in Portugal in May has made international headlines, Tuttoilmondo said.

"Based on the totality of the circumstances, we do not believe it's her (Madeleine)," Tuttoilmondo said and added that his office is working with the FBI to completely rule out the possibility.

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.

[danielle474]

I don''t understand why no one is coming forward yet and there is no new information on this case. I fear the case will eventually get stuffed in a file and she will be just another missing child. I hope that doesen''t happen. There has to be someone out there who knows something. My prayers are with her and the investagators. Please dont give up on her. Rest in peace baby grace.

[bandkcmom]

I have 4 little girls and I panic when they spend the night with their grandparents. Why is no one coming foward? This little girl must have a family some where. I feel so heart broken to think that no one cares enough to claim her. I hope that who ever done this is found and punished to the max! It chills me to think that this innocent little girl has no one to speak out for her. Hearing the things on the news, I wonder what kind of life she lived,was there one person in her life that considered her "their little girl". It takes a cold heartless person to do something to a child like this and I hope and pray they are found and punished beyond the law. This just makes me irate to think innocent children are treated this way!!!!

[danielle474]

I cant believe someone would do something to a little baby like that. I cried when i first saw this story. I have a 2 year old son and i couldn''t imagine. Those poor parents and family. I prey and hope they find out who she is and where she belongs, so she can rest in peace, than we can focus on finding the *** that did this, and prevent it from happening again. My thoughts are with the beautiful baby grace, and prey for answers.