Fetus found on river sandbar died of ‘stillbirth/miscarriage of unknown cause’
A human fetus found in box on a Arkansas River sandbar in November died from a “stillbirth/miscarriage of unknown cause,” the coroner’s office found during an autopsy.
A 57-year-old woman found the fetus wrapped in a baby blanket in a black shoe box while she was by the river in south Wichita on Nov. 3, according to an autopsy report filed last month in Sedgwick County District Court. The Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center estimated the fetus’ age to be 11 to 13 weeks gestation, or about three months.
At autopsy, the remains were determined to be of a nonviable fetus, meaning it wasn’t capable of living or developing to a point where it could survive outside of the womb.
The fetus had “no external evidence of genetic malformation (or) disease,” the autopsy report says. The box was found near Skinner and Greenway, along the east river bank between Harry and Pawnee.
Police on Nov. 4 asked members of the public to call detectives at 316-268-4407 if they knew who put the fetus in the box and why. When the department announced the discovery, it said it didn’t expect any crime had occurred.
Officer Charley Davidson said Monday that authorities were able to find and talk to everyone involved in the case.
This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 5:01 AM.
