GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - The body of an infant who might have fallen or been thrown from a vehicle was found Tuesday morning, January 29, 2008, near a child safety seat by the side of a road, police said.
A woman from Alvin has tentatively identified the boy as her missing 3 month-old son, Galveston police Lt. Jorge Trevino said. Officers are searching for the father, the last person seen with the boy, he said.
The discovery comes just three months after a fisherman found the remains of a 2 year-old girl in a plastic box that had washed ashore in Galveston Bay. The girl's mother and stepfather are charged in her death.
A Galveston couple found the body of the boy as they drove slowly along the road looking for coyotes. Jesse James Zaro Jr. said he initially thought the baby was a doll.
The body probably had been in the grass for only a short time because it was in good condition, Trevino said. There were no obvious marks on the body, which was taken to the Galveston County medical examiner's office.
The woman who believes the boy is her son told authorities the father had left their home about 5:00 a.m. with the baby to get a car repaired, Trevino said. She began calling hospitals hours later because the father hadn't left with a "lot of provisions for the baby," he said.
The boy, who was wearing only a diaper, might have been thrown from a vehicle while he was in the car seat found nearby, Trevino said.
It is unlikely the baby could have fallen out of the car without the driver noticing, he added.
"It was horrible," he said. "I went to pieces. I couldn't believe it."
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