BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Investigators are looking back into a nearly 50-year-old Northwest Arkansas cold case involving an unidentified dead infant.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office shared a news release Tuesday announcing it will exhume a “Baby John Doe” that was discovered in a wooded area in 1977. The newborn’s body is currently buried at Bentonville Cemetery.
On April 16, 1977, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a wooded area approximately one mile northeast of the junction of county roads 201 and 70. A group of teenagers playing in the area discovered the remains of a newborn infant, according to the release. A plastic bag and placenta were located near the body.
The body of “Baby John Doe” was found approximately one mile northeast of the intersection of County Road 201 and County Road 70 (Marchant Road).
The identities of the newborn and the child’s parents have remained unknown despite previous public appeals and investigations. Advances in forensic DNA technology have created new opportunities to identify individuals involved in cases like this, the release states.
“This case has remained unresolved for nearly 50 years, but advances in DNA technolo...