The strange and baffling case of Baby Grace, the name given to the unidentified body of a little girl found October 29 on Galveston Bay, now has an added twist.
It was determined by autopsy that Baby Grace was between the ages of 2-4 with light brown to blond hair. In their attempt to solve the mystery of who Baby Grace is the local Galveston County Sheriff's Department and the FBI turned to cases of little girls reported missing that were close to Baby Grace's description.
GALVESTON — Investigators have requested DNA samples from the families of eight missing children, one of them from Spring, who fit the description of Baby Grace, a 2- to 3-year-old girl whose body was found in a plastic box on a sandbar in West Galveston Bay.The authorities didn't know little Riley Sawyers was missing until her father, Robert Sawyers, and grandmother Sheryl Sawyers in Ohio happened to see the story of Baby Grace and the sketch supplied by the authorities.
After receiving about 350 leads, investigators chose the eight cases from among 110 cases of missing children who matched the girl's description, Galveston County sheriff's spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said Wednesday.
The eight cases are from all over the United States, he said.
Authorities requested a DNA sample from the father and mother of the Spring girl, Tuttoilmondo said. The father lives in Ohio and the mother lives in Spring, he said.
DNA results from Baby Grace are expected late this week or early next week. Tuttoilmondo did not know whether the DNA samples from the Spring girl's father had been received. He said it takes two to three weeks to obtain DNA results once the samples arrive at the lab. [1]
Who is Riley Sawyers?
Riley’s mother Kim had moved to Spring, Texas, last summer taking 2 1/2-year-old Riley with her.
Sheryl Sawyers told the station 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers moved to Texas with her mother, Kim Sawyers, last summer, after meeting a man on the Internet.Riley’s Story
Since Riley was born, she and her mother were living with Sheryl Sawyers, Riley's paternal grandmother; however, Sheryl Sawyers said neither she nor her son, Robert, have heard from Kim since she moved Texas, MyFoxCleveland reports.
This week, Kim Sawyers told Texas police someone from Ohio came with papers demanding custody of the little girl and took her, the station reports. According to MyFoxCleveland, she never checked into the validity of the person.[2]
The Sawyers family can't sleep. Ever since they found out about the unidentified body of a girl in Galveston, Texas, the nightmares began to intensify.Riley Sawyers is missing
Last summer, 2 1/2 year old Riley Sawyers went missing in Texas. Sheryl Sawyers had been helping her son and his girlfriend, Kimberly Zigler, raise the child. Last summer, Kimberly suddenly moved the child to Spring, Texas.
Kimberly had apparently met a new lover on the internet as she played the game, "World of Warcraft". Royce Zigler convinced Kim to move to Texas with her child.
A few months later, Kimberly Zigler told family members that a social worker from Ohio had taken Riley away from her last summer. However, no agency in Ohio has any information on removing any child from Texas.
Riley's grandmother doesn't buy Kim's story.
"To hand your child over and not call police and not file a missing person's report," said Sawyers. "It doesn't make sense."
Ray Sawyers, Riley's grandfather added, "That tells me something's fishy and something's suspicious. Very!" [3]
A little girl is now missing. Who is in charge of investigating her case in Harris County, separate from the Galveston County Sheriff's Department and the FBI whose focus is on identifying Baby Grace?
If Riley’s mother’s tale were true, that she thought she was handing her daughter over to someone from Ohio Social Services, the fact remains that the state of Ohio checked into her claim and said no one from their state is involved. This would make Riley's case an abduction by a stranger.
Riley’s information would have been added to the Amber Alert, to organizations such as National Center For Missing Or Exploited Children. The Harris County Sheriff’s Department would have begun a missing person’s case on Riley. A stranger abduction case means the child is in imminent danger.
On the other hand, Riley’s mother cannot produce her little girl and may have given a false statement as to the whereabouts of Riley. When a little three-year-old girl has disappeared and the custodial parent, Riley’s mother, cannot prove the child’s whereabouts shouldn’t the authorities launch a full-scale investigation of their own?
Shouldn’t there be some kind of concern for the health and welfare of little Riley Sawyers other than waiting for results from a DNA test which could take anywhere from one to three weeks?
DNA results from Baby Grace are expected late this week or early next week. Tuttoilmondo did not know whether the DNA samples from the Spring girl's father had been received. He said it takes two to three weeks to obtain DNA results once the samples arrive at the lab. [1]
“Two to three weeks to obtain DNA results”
A little three-year-old girl from Spring, Texas is missing, either abducted by a stranger or is possibly Baby Grace. Will the police begin an official investigation into where Riley is and/or what happened to her other than waiting "one to three weeks for the DNA results" to return? If she is not the dead Baby Grace in Galveston then time is wasting, evidence will disappear, as perhaps, those who are involved, will slip away too.
By LBG
Image [1] [MyFox Cleveland]
Image [2] [Galveston County Sheriff's Department]
Source [1]– Houston Chronicle – DNA samples may offer clue to Baby Grace’s identity
Source – [2] – Fox News.com - Ohio Family Thinks They Know Identity of 'Baby Grace'
Source – [3] - wkyc.com - Is 'Baby Grace' really 'Baby Riley' from Menton, Ohio?
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