Community Buries Baby Grace as Search for Her Family Continues

The baby, identified as Baby Doe on her death certificate and named Baby Grace by the man who arranged her funeral, was found in a portable toilet at the Electric Forest music festival in Rothbury on June 28. State police said initial autopsy results showed she was born alive and had reached viability. Her parents have not been identified.

About 350 people attended a service at Fair Haven Church on November 9. Travis Byrnes, a church member appointed by Oceana County Probate Court to take custody of the baby’s remains, organized the funeral and chose the name Grace. He said the name could be changed if her biological family is found.

After the service, about 75 people joined a procession to Georgetown Cemetery in Jenison, where the baby was laid to rest in a cemetery plot given by the Byrnes family. Mourners contributed more than 50 handwritten notes, along with a pink blanket, stuffed animals, socks and other keepsakes, to be buried with her. Byrnes is raising money for an upright monument to make the grave easier to find.

The case is still under investigation. Michigan State Police and the FBI are working to identify the baby’s parents and determine what happened. The FBI is offering as much as $15,000 for tips that help identify, arrest and convict anyone involved in her death. Tips can be submitted to state police at 855-MICH-TIP.