Goodbye, Baby Jane

This 1996 Gazette article was republished on Jan. 29, 2024, after recent developments.

TIPTON — They didn't know where she came from or whose child she was and they knew her only by a name given her by those investigating her death.

But nearly three dozen people, shivering in a cold wind that raced unchallenged across bare farm fields, gathered Thursday in a rarely used burial plot north of Tipton to bury Baby Jane Lincoln, a newborn found in a barn along Highway 30 a mile east of Lisbon.

The death of the full-term Caucasian baby, found wrapped in a plastic shopping bag and placed inside a garbage bag, remains a mystery despite efforts by the Cedar County Sheriff's Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Her body was found about 10 a.m. Sunday by Clair Wilson at the rural Lisbon farm where he lives with his son, Tim Wilson and his family.

Preliminary autopsy results showed the baby was alive when she was born. Sheriff Keith Whitlatch expects a full report, possibly fixing the cause of death, later this week.

Using body temperature, detectives estimate the child could have been placed in the barn as late as 6 a.m. Sunday.

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Strangers gathered Thursday to bury Baby Jane in a county-owned burial plot surrounded by a once-white picket fence.

"Some of them said they just had to come, they felt compelled," the Rev. Frank Heubner said afterward.

Heubner, pastor of Cedar Street Baptist Church in Tipton, drew his inspiration from Mark 10:13-16.

"Suffer the little children to come to me ...," Heubner said, the pages of his well-worn Bible fluttering in the wind.

"It seemed to me to be the most logical thing to go to. I wanted to reassure those at the cemetery of God's love, to let them know there is a God in heaven who loves us," Heubner said.

He told the mourners that "even if we understood all the circumstances surrounding Baby Jane's death ... it would not be enough to satisfy our hearts."

Heubner did not direct any remarks to Baby Jane's parents. "I would love to have the opportunity to tell them that God loves them as much as he loves their daughter," he said. "But this was Baby Jane's time. We were there for her."

Many of those who attended said they came out of appreciation for their children. Most were from the community. Among the mourners were members of the Wilson family.

Karen Yonkovic of Lisbon attended the baby's funeral. "We just thought someone should be here," she tearfully said after the ceremony. "We love babies. We don't think that this should have to happen to them. There are too many places for them, there are too many people wanting them. There's a doorstep somewhere. There's a home, there's warmth, there's love. This should never happen."

Media and law enforcement personnel, nearly as numerous as the mourners, were there too.

Officers checked license plates on cars at the cemetery, but Deputy Orville Randolph said the graveside service produced no new leads. The Sheriff's Department still gets phone calls and he holds out hope that a caller will provide information that could lead to Baby Jane's parents.

Sunday's discovery was the second time in three months that a newborn's body was found in the county. In August, a 12-year-old mother gave birth to a baby girl and abandoned her in at a campground near Tipton. The baby died of exposure. No charges were filed against the mother.

Investigators say the plastic bag Baby Jane was inside was white with handles. "Thanks for shopping here" was printed in red letters, the "T" and the "S" being uppercase letters.

Anyone who might know where bags matching that description are used is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (319) 886-2121.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.