It’s been a year since a toddler’s body was found near a Delaware softball field, and authorities are still hoping to make an identification.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, investigators responded to the Little Lass fields in Smyrna, across the street from Smyrna Middle School, on September 15, 2019, after someone walking a dog found a human bone.
“There is some evidence of a fire at or near the crime scene which is why we have involved the State Fire Marshal’s office in our investigation,” Cpl. Brian M. Donner, with the Smryna Police Department, said last year.
The child’s remains were found close to the softball field batting cages, at the bank of the Duck Creek Pond. Investigators at the time said someone attempted to cover up the child, but she was not completely hidden.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the child, nicknamed “Baby Elle,” had been dead for several weeks or more before being discovered. She appeared to be between the ages of two to five.
NCMEC Forensic Artists released a facial reconstruction photo last year of the child; she appeared to have been Caucasian or Hispanic with “slightly wavy brown hair.” According to an anthropological exam, the child probably suffered from a chronic illness.
Smyrna police previously said that the child did not match any local missing children. She’s also not missing girl, Dulce Alvarez, who disappeared from New Jersey in September 2019.
“We don’t have any internal missing children that would match what we found out there,” Donner said last year.
“We’ve reached out to all our partner agencies in state, and also out of state. We kind of have an all-points bulletin out there for the limited amount of information we do have to see if anyone can match that to any active cases they have.”
Authorities are asking the public to take a close look at Elle’s photo. If anyone has any information, contact the Smyrna police at 302-653-3490 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.
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[Feature Photo: Baby Elle/NCMEC]
