More than 100 people packed an Ohio funeral home to say goodbye to a newborn who was found dead in a garbage truck earlier this month, according to local police and media reports.
Community members paid their respects on Saturday morning to the unidentified newborn, dubbed Madison Baby Doe because she was found in Madison County, Ohio, according to local outlet WBNS.
The baby girl was discovered in the rear collection part of a garbage truck on Thursday, June 15 on the border of Plain City, an Ohio village of roughly 4,000 people, police said. While the coroner's preliminary report shows the little girl appeared to be a "full-term newborn" with her umbilical cord still attached, a cause of death was not revealed, Plain City Police Chief Dale McKee told local media last week. Investigators are waiting for the final autopsy report from the Montgomery County Coroner's Office, he said.
Community donations covered the cost of her funeral and burial, McKee said, adding that Forest Grove Cemetery and Ferguson Funeral Home provided the services for free.
Newsweek reached out via email to Plain City Police Chief Dale McKee, Plain City village officials and Ferguson's Funeral Home.
The baby's obituary, shared on the funeral home's website, said that the public was invited to attend visitation and a Memorial Service officiated by Plain City Police Chaplain Martin Guerena.
"Madison will never be forgotten," the obituary reads, noting that the newborn was found by "two heroes who will remain nameless."
McKee said he was committed to giving the baby a funeral. The chief said his first goal is to "find out who did this" and his second goal was to make sure Madison is "properly buried."
"We really just wanted to give baby Madison Doe a final rest in peace," McKee said to local outlet ABC 6. "She never had a proper life, so she was definitely going to have a proper funeral."
A video, shared on Twitter, shows baby Madison's tiny white casket being placed inside a hearse, flanked by 14 first responders.
"Lots of emotions coming from the community following service. The casket of newborn Madison baby doe being placed in the back of a hearse @wsyx6," a local reporter tweeted with the clip.
Following the packed memorial service, hundreds more community members came out of their homes to watch the two-mile procession from the funeral home to Forest Grove Cemetery.
McKee told local media on Saturday that he wasn't surprised by the funeral's turnout.
"It wasn't a shock to me that so many people showed up today because in times of need Plain City has always been that way," McKee said.
The police chief said Plain City police continue to investigate the circumstances of Madison's death, including how the newborn ended up in the garbage.
The child was in a trash can before ending up in the back of the garbage truck, where she was found by waste management employees within minutes, McKee said, adding that they called police at roughly 2:30 p.m. local time. The prompt discovery of the baby's remains has allowed investigators to narrow down the location where the newborn was picked up, McKee said to reporters a day after the tragic discovery.
He said police are reviewing "a lot" of video, including door cameras from houses on the garbage route and video from the truck itself. However, he said police are also seeking the public's help.
"We know somebody out there knows something," McKee said, adding that babies don't "just end up in the trash."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Plain City police at 614-873-2921.