Dodge County's Sheriff is surprised by a lack of tips in the well-publicized case of "Baby Theresa." The infant was only about 24 hours old when her body was found by a man cutting wood south of the Village of Theresa last week. Press conferences, sketches of the baby and the driver of a "vehicle of interest" didn't generate as many tips as Sheriff Todd Nehls had hoped for.
"I would have thought, with the publicity this case has received, the large net that we have cast to try to gather information, get tips and locate the mother . . . we would have been inundated with calls and tips," Nehls said.
Some wondered about releasing a sketch of the baby (JPEG), but Nehls said it's an example of how far they're willing to go learn the identity of the mother who abandoned her baby girl. "I think it's done a lot of good," he said. "I think we owe baby Therersa an identity. I think when we talk about something like this, we should be able to put a face . . . with the story, and that's what we did. Are there some people that think it was the wrong thing to do? I don't care. That was our call."
Nehls said his department will not use a funeral for abandoned newborn to try and catch the mother. Nehls said Monday's funeral is a chance for those who care about what happened to the infant to show their respect, including his own officers, and they won't be looking for the mother or anyone who knows her at the ceremony. "Our focus is going to be on the funeral, we're not staging anything as a law enforcement operation," the sheriff said. Sheriff's Chaplain Tim Bauer will officiate over the service.
