KS KS - Thomas Co, WhtUns Infant, UP2355, Blond/Strawberry Hair, 15 Pounds, Jun'80

[YaYa_521]

Rest in peace, Lil' Chubby.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

*NO IMAGES*

NamUs #UP2355
NamUs Case Created August 20, 2008
ME/C Case Number 09-51030
Unsure, White / Caucasian
Date Body Found June 13, 1980
Estimated Year of Death 1980
Estimated PMI--
Inventory of Remains--
Condition of Remains--
Location Found Thomas County, Kansas
Estimated Age Range 1 Years
Height 1' 7"(19 inches) , Estimated
Weight 15 lbs, Estimated
Hair Color Blond/Strawberry
Head Hair Description blonde
Eye Color Unknown

Circumstances of Recovery - Unknown victim found in Thomas County, KS on 06/13/1980.

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping. So sad

 

[Laughing]

Chubby, indeed. I had one born at 19 1/2 inches, 9 pounds, 14 ounces by C-section.

Biggest baby in the nursery, two weeks past date.

Same height, half again as much weight?

NAMUS is amazing, but the map pins are, unreliable. The pin for this baby is just west of Colby, Kansas. Google indicates that per the 2020 Federal Census enumeration, Colby had a population of 5,570 and Thomas County, 7,930. For the county, a population density of 7.4 people per square mile. That's not many people.


I-70 crosses Colby & Thomas County which means this poor baby could be from anywhere -- I-70 connects Washington DC and Salt Lake City, Utah. Several hours west of Kansas City & I-35 (5 1/2 hour drive,) east of Denver & I-25 ( 3 1/2 hour drive.)

Zoom out on the map, the dark circles are center-pivot irrigation, not sure what crop, likely wheat.


image from Etsy.com

 

[Goecke]

Are we sure this is a newborn?
Sure, newborns this heavy have been recorded, but are incredibly rare and usually result in both the mom and baby needing extensive medical care. Anything over 10ish pounds is considered abnormally heavy for a newborn boy, so if he was born at 15 pounds he'd be WAY off the charts. If he really was a newborn I'd be inclined to think he had some kind of medical condition and was likely stillborn or died shortly after birth. Hydrops fetalis was the first thing that came to mind, but usually babies with that condition are born premature and have a lower than normal birth weight despite all the fluid buildup.

 

[iamshadow21]

Are we sure this is a newborn?
Sure, newborns this heavy have been recorded, but are incredibly rare and usually result in both the mom and baby needing extensive medical care. Anything over 10ish pounds is considered abnormally heavy for a newborn boy, so if he was born at 15 pounds he'd be WAY off the charts. If he really was a newborn I'd be inclined to think he had some kind of medical condition and was likely stillborn or died shortly after birth. Hydrops fetalis was the first thing that came to mind, but usually babies with that condition are born premature and have a lower than normal birth weight despite all the fluid buildup.

The length/height is bang on newborn 19-20 inches. Babies grow longer pretty fast. I think this child is a newborn, or not far off it, they're just heavier than most.

Either that, or they're an average weight four to five month old who is way, way behind on their height development.

Average Baby Length in the First Year: What to Expect

EDIT: Realised I'd used gendered pronouns when we don't know this baby's biological sex, so switched those out for they/them.

 

[Laughing]

By weight I'd say 3-6 months, but agree that the height is ???

Gestational diabetes can contribute to overweight babies. Lack of pre-natal care can contribute to gestational diabetes....

 

[Susikatze]

I guess one of the measurements is not correct.

 

[iamshadow21]

By weight I'd say 3-6 months, but agree that the height is ???

Gestational diabetes can contribute to overweight babies. Lack of pre-natal care can contribute to gestational diabetes....

Does gestational diabetes increase the risk of babies dying at birth or shortly after? We don't have a COD.

 

[Laughing]

Does gestational diabetes increase the risk of babies dying at birth or shortly after? We don't have a COD.

Well, it's not ideal. Lemme call some nurses & maybe a doctor:

@LaborDayRN @meanmaryjean @BeginnerSleuther

@Lonestar.Scholar @LoneStar70 @TexasCrimeJunkie and some Texans!

 

[iamshadow21]

Well, it's not ideal. Lemme call some nurses & maybe a doctor:

@LaborDayRN @meanmaryjean @BeginnerSleuther

@Lonestar.Scholar @LoneStar70 @TexasCrimeJunkie and some Texans!

All I could think of was 'Avengers Assemble' but everyone who turns up is wearing scrubs in a different colour.

 

[meanmaryjean]

Well, it's not ideal. Lemme call some nurses & maybe a doctor:

@LaborDayRN @meanmaryjean @BeginnerSleuther

@Lonestar.Scholar @LoneStar70 @TexasCrimeJunkie and some Texans!

Yes. Gestational diabetes impacts infant mortality.
Also measuring newborn length is tricky for the inexperienced so I personally.would not put too much stock in that length.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Well, it's not ideal. Lemme call some nurses & maybe a doctor:

@LaborDayRN @meanmaryjean @BeginnerSleuther

@Lonestar.Scholar @LoneStar70 @TexasCrimeJunkie and some Texans!

Disclaimer - not my specialty field, but yes, it can. It can also contribute to very large babies who are sometimes born via C-section (even premature) because they're so big. It can also trigger early labor in mom if her diabetes is uncontrolled, so baby is born naturally but premature.

 

[iamshadow21]

Disclaimer - not my specialty field, but yes, it can. It can also contribute to very large babies who are sometimes born via C-section (even premature) because they're so big. It can also trigger early labor in mom if her diabetes is uncontrolled, so baby is born naturally but premature.

So, despite this baby's size, they could have been premature if GD was a factor. Thank you.

We don't know what the PMI was, but they don't know eye colour or biological sex, so it was probably a while. Signs the baby was immature likely weren't visible anymore. The lungs, for example, were probably decomposed.

 

[iamshadow21]

Yes. Gestational diabetes impacts infant mortality.
Also measuring newborn length is tricky for the inexperienced so I personally.would not put too much stock in that length.

So if the measurement of length was off, this could be a typical baby a few months old. Good to know.

This baby wasn't found right away, as we can tell from the information. I imagine decomposition makes the measuring process even more difficult. A couple of pounds or inches doesn't really matter with an adult Doe, but with a baby like this little one, inaccuracy can be a huge problem. The length vs height things really has us scratching our heads, and it could just be a simple mismeasurement.

 

[YaYa_521]

Let's not forget @othram's super power.

 

[doublestop]

If they can't tell the gender it may have been dead a while, which may make the height and weight estimates.

 

[doublestop]

From the 17 June 1980 Wichita Eagle: (I originally put up a clipping but did I see recently we aren't supposed to do that? ) At any rate, it says the body was found in a trash bag in a culvert along I-70. It had been in the trash bag for 3-7 days and was believed to be 1 to 5 months old. The child's feet were missing and the death was being investigated as a homicide. An autopsy was planned but I could find nothing about the results.

 

[doublestop]

If the baby's feet were removed before the body was disposed of (not by animals or decomposition) it would imply the baby was born in a hospital where they took footprints, and the person who disposed of him/her removed them to keep the baby from being identified.

 

[doublestop]

An article in the Salina KS Journal from 24 Sep 1980 refers to the baby as "Mexican-Caucasian" and says they have run out of clues.

 

[doublestop]

An article in the 4 Nov 1986 Wichita Eagle about unidentified remains refers to the infant's remains as "a skeleton."