The search for a missing infant has reached an impasse according to Mason City’s police chief. Chief Michael Lashbrook says in a written statement that the Mason City Police Department’s investigation into the suspected birth and unknown location of an infant has yielded little information that would give hope to locating the baby or to its well-being.
Lashbrook says an exhaustive search in and around the area of the Iowa Workforce Development building has involved the examination of sewer and sewage lines, rooftops, neighborhoods and commercial business areas with no positive results. The search even extended to the Landfill of North Iowa, where trash from residential and commercial businesses around the Workforce Development building would have been disposed of from this past weekend.
Lashbrook says while the investigation remains open, police believe that information of a more specific nature is needed in order to continue the search. 19-year-old Chanel Hanley of Charles City has been identified as the child’s mother, but Lashbrook previously said that she’s not cooperating with the investigation.
The baby was believed to be born 29 to 32 weeks into the pregnancy and would weigh about three pounds. Anybody with information on the baby’s whereabouts is asked to contact Mason City Police at 421-3636.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City