by Noah Cohen ncohen@bergenlivemedia.com
STAMFORD, CONN (July 7, 2009) The body of a two-year-old girl found by boaters Sunday in the Passaic River in Clifton was stolen from a Stamford, Conn. cemetery, police announced today at a news conference.
Capt. Richard Conklin of the Stamford Police Detective Bureau said there were no suspects and the investigation was ongoing.
“We have speculation and theories” he said.
The child’s body, which was found embalmed and sealed in a plastic bag, was well preserved, Conklin said.
Police have not identified the child out of respect for the family’s privacy.
The body was identified by the New Jersey State Medical Examiner’s Office, Stamford Police said.
“The Stamford Police Department’s heartfelt condolences go to the family, who are reliving the grief of the loss of the child,” Conklin said.
The child died from a pre-existing medical condition and was buried at the Woodland Cemetery in 2007, police said.
“We believe that the baby was legally buried in 2007,” said Lt. Sean Cooney, a Stamford police spokesman.
He said there was nothing to show that the graves had been recently dug up or disturbed.
Stamford Police and Passaic County authorities exhumed the grave and found the body missing.
Cooney said he was unsure how New Jersey authorities identified the child’s body.
Filed under: Clifton, body found, Clifton, crime, passaic river