Jun 20, 2007 4:25 pm US/Eastern
Experts Test For Ohio Woman, Baby DNA Link
NORTH CANTON, Ohio (CBS News) ―
DNA tests to determine whether a newborn baby found on a porch is the daughter of a missing pregnant woman likely won't be done until next week, authorities said Wednesday.
"We're obviously speeding things up, but it's not something that can be rushed," said Robert Budgake, director of the Canton-Stark County Crime Lab.
Jessie Davis, 26, due to deliver a girl July 3, hasn't been heard from since a phone call with her mother June 13. The sheriff in the neighboring county where the baby was found, Thomas Maurer, said he does not believe there is a connection between the baby and Davis.
A couple discovered the newborn, her umbilical cord tied off with a rubber band, Monday night on the porch of their rural home near Wooster, about 45 miles from Davis' home near North Canton. The baby, who was less than 24 hours old, was in a wicker basket and dressed in a sleeper.
"We're using every caution we can" to identify the baby or eliminate the possibility that she is related to Davis, Maurer said.
Davis' family says her baby is biracial, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But the paper also says Sue Redman described the girl found on her porch as white. She and her husband believe it more likely the infant came from someone familiar with the wife's work as a school nurse and board member at a local free clinic.
They found the child when they returned from dinner Monday evening to their home south of Wooster.
"We both were in shock. It was a newborn, well, an infant, laying just as peacefully as can be in a basket," Don Redman told CBS affiliate WOIO.
The discovery of the baby may be a coincidence.
"It's very hard actually to tell if the baby is actually 24 hours or 48 hours or 72 hours, so I'm not quite sure I believe the exact number on that. If the baby is only 1 day old, I'm doubting it's hers," criminal profiler Pat Brown said on CBS News' The Early Show.
DNA was collected from the infant using a mouth swab, but Budgake declined to describe the samples from Davis that will be compared to the baby's genetic material. Results are expected Monday or Tuesday, he said.
Saliva from a toothbrush or a piece of hair from a brush are the most common sources of DNA used in missing persons cases, unless blood is available, said Steven Greene, a deputy superintendent at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
It typically takes five days to complete the analysis, he said.
"It's all very tedious and laborious," Greene said. "They're dealing with very small quantities of material."
Investigators say they have no suspects. On its Web site, the FBI lists the case as a kidnapping. But FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said the label is standard whenever foul play is a possibility and the agency doesn't know if Davis was abducted or not.
She was reported missing on Friday when her mother, Patricia Porter, found her 2-year-old grandson, his diaper dirty, alone at Davis house, some furniture askew. A pool of bleach was on the bedroom floor, and the contents of Davis' purse were scatted in the kitchen. Her cell phone and a comforter were missing.
The FBI said it planned to release details later Wednesday on a reward for information leading to Davis' whereabouts.
The father of Davis' son and unborn girl is Canton police patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr., who authorities say is cooperating in the search for Davis.
Cutts told a newspaper he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance and that he has slept little and had no appetite since she vanished.
"The last five days have been a nightmare. It won't end," Cutts told The Repository.
Cutts, who also has two children with his wife, Kelly, said he and his wife are separated but have not filed for divorce and that she knew he had a relationship with Davis.
He said he last spoke with Davis at 8 p.m. on June 13, about 90 minutes before she spoke with her mother.
On Wednesday, a representative from a Texas volunteer search group planned to meet with Davis' family and investigators in Ohio to determine if the group can help, said Cindy Wisdom, a case manager with Texas EquuSearch. The group has been involved in some high-profile missing persons cases, including the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Alabama, who was reported missing in Aruba in 2005.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
