ROSS COUNTY, OH – The Ross County Sheriff’s Office and the Ross County Coroner’s Office have reopened a cold case from 1975 involving the death of a newborn infant.
According to a police report from the sheriff’s office, coroner’s investigators recently requested information about the death investigation of a newborn found on a trash pile at a roadside dumping area on Windy Ridge Road. The infant was discovered on Sunday, February 2, 1975, wrapped in a blood-stained cloth and covered by a woman’s skirt. Nearby, a bathroom trash can full of blood was also found.
Much of the historical information on the case was lost due to water damage in the mid-1990s caused by a leak in the basement of the Law Enforcement Complex.
The infant’s body was later buried at the Mt. Tabor Cemetery. However, due to incomplete church records, the exact location of the grave remains unknown.
“The exact location of the burial site is unknown at this time. We know the cemetery but the cemetery records of the actual burial site are no longer available,” said Mike Ratliff of the Ross County Coroner’s Office.
The newborn was discovered by a 13-year-old boy. According to the coroner at the time, the child died of asphyxiation.
The sheriff’s office report did not specify what new information has emerged or why the case is being revisited. Currently, officials are searching, trying to locate the child’s burial site before moving forward.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Ross County Sheriff’s Office.
