Youths’ Bizarre Story of Dead Baby in Hidden Trails Dumpster Yields Placenta, But No Baby

It was a troubling enough report that Sheriff Rick Staly himself went to the scene at Hidden Trails community park Saturday evening (March 24), where two youths had reported that a dead baby had been found in a dumpster and been buried near the park’s pond.

Ronald Booth, a 30-year-old resident of Water Oak Road in the western part of the county, had overheard the two boys speak about the alleged find. The boys are 13 and 14.

From all evidence gathered so far, it would turn out to be significantly different than what the boys were reporting, though they or their siblings and friends had made an unusual find: what appears to have been a human placenta, but no baby. Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies are still seeking the public’s help in determining the health and welfare of the newborn, who has not been located.

Booth provided little more than having overheard the boys. A deputy was able to speak with one of the teens, whose mother allowed a statement to be provided. The 14-year-old told the deputy that on March 23, his sister “told him she had found a deceased baby in the dumpster at Hidden Trails Park, on the East side of the front parking lot,” according to a sheriff’s incident report.

The girl told her brother she left the baby in the dumpster but returned on Saturday afternoon. The boy at some point told his sister to “bury the baby, so it could go to heaven.” So the girl and two of her friends “took possession of the baby and buried it near the park’s pond.” The boy told the deputy that he was at the park when the “burial” took place, though not within the immediate area.

The deputy then interviewed the boy’s 13-year-old friend whom Booth had also overheard. He corroborated his friend’s account, saying he’d heard that a baby had been found in the dumpster and was to be buried near the pond. “When he arrived at the park, he observed [one of the girls] burying an object from a distance,” the report states. The boy says he did not go nearer.

The deputy then reports: “I responded to the alleged burial site and observed it was on the southeast corner of the park’s pond within the fenced in area. I observed multiple pieces of ripped cardboard laying on top of the ground. I removed said cardboard and observed the dirt was disturbed and there were countless ants. Flagler County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and supplied me with a shovel. I dug approximately four (4) inches into the dirt and located a large balled up blue and white disposable medical underpad. I fully uncovered said pad and observed it was soaked in suspected blood. I unraveled said pad and observed an organ. It was unknown to this deputy whether said organ was from an animal or human. The scene was photographed as I uncovered the organ.”

A crime scene was established. The sheriff’s investigative division sent detectives. An employee with the Medical Examiner’s office later responded to the scene and took custody of the organ, which was determined to be a human placenta.

It appears the youths had combined their find with shreds of assumptions and inventions, but not with malice.

Monday evening, the Sheriff’s Office issued the following: “The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s assistance in determining who may have recently given birth and disposed of the placenta so that we can ensure that the infant and mother are safe and well. There are no criminal charges pending.”

“We are asking the public to assist us in solving this mystery and ensuring the mother and infant are okay,” Staly said. “Please call us with any information you may have.”

The primary objective is to locate the newborn infant, believed to have been born sometime between March 19th and March 23rd and ensure the child is safe and healthy.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at 386-313-4911 and mention Case Number 2018-00028099. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIP (8477). You could eligible for a reward up to $5,000.