Five Years Later, Still No Answers In Death Of Newborn Found In Waterford Trash

WATERFORD (CBS13) — It's been five years since a one-day old baby was found in a trash bin outside of a tackle shop.

Five years later, Stanislaus County Sheriff's investigators are looking for leads on what happened to Baby J. Doe.

Flowers, balloons and a small fire truck were left on the baby's gravesite on Thursday, the five-year anniversary of the newborn's death.

He had no name, no clothes, and no one to give him a proper burial. But in 2011, the tiny town of Waterford banded together to make sure this baby had a final resting place.

"The biggest issue is trying to determine why and what happened that led to the baby being left and placed in the garbage can," said Sgt. Anthony Bajaran.

Clayton Guzman runs the Ceres Memorial Park cemetery and donated a plot for the newborn back in 2011. A man who was looking for aluminum cans in the trash outside the Bait Barn Tackle Shop instead found a dead baby.

For Guzman, the emotions of that day are still raw, and he's hopeful that the baby's parents will come forward and do the right thing.

"Hopefully someone has a conscience and they come forward," he said. "They can come to the cemetery, step up to the plate and say 'That's my child.' Things can be worked out, I'm quite sure."

For now, that's all investigators have to go on.

"We don't have any information whatsoever, and we're hoping that maybe somebody remembers something from that night," Barajan said.

Because of the circumstances surrounding the case, investigators say it's important to remember the state's safe haven law. That allows a parent to leave a baby with a hospital, fire department or law enforcement agency without any fear of arrest or prosecution if they're unable to care for a child.