One year later, detectives still seek parents of ‘Baby Hope’

One year after a baby was found dead inside a backpack in west suburban Wheaton, investigators have released images of what the child’s parents might look like.

The unidentified child, called “Baby Hope” by authorities, was found on Aug. 15, 2016 near a private drive off the 25W400 block of Plamondon Road in unincorporated Wheaton, according to the DuPage County sheriff’s and coroner’s offices.

“Today we are releasing to the public that it was determined by the DuPage County coroner’s office that Baby Hope took at least one breath before she passed away,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Tuesday, one year after the child was found.

Investigators utilized the services of Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based technology company that specializes in DNA phenotyping, the process of predicting physical appearance and ancestry from unidentified DNA evidence, police said.

The DNA phenotyping indicated both of Baby Hope’s parents are of Latino ancestry, police said.

“Since that time, investigators have worked numerous leads in an attempt to identity Baby Hope’s parents,” police said.

Previously, the sheriff’s department announced a $5,000 reward for information that led to the baby’s parents.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact police at (630) 407-2400 or text 274637 with the message SHERIFF followed by the tip. All calls are confidential.