Alisha Heinrich | |
|---|---|
 Alisha Heinrich, c. 1982 | |
| Born | Alisha Ann Heinrich May 24, 1981[1] |
| Disappeared | c. November 24, 1982 (aged 18 months) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Status | Identified after 38 years |
| Died | December 3 or 4, 1982 (aged 18 months) |
| Cause of death | Homicide by forced drowning |
| Body discovered | December 5, 1982 Moss Point, Mississippi, United States |
| Resting place | Jackson County Memorial Park, Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States 30°21′24″N 88°30′53″W / 30.3567°N 88.5147°W (approximate) |
| Other names | Delta Dawn, Baby Jane |
| Known for | Formerly unidentified victim of homicide |
| Height | 2 ft 5 in (0.74 m) - 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m) |
| Parent | Gwendolyn Mae Clemons (mother) |
Alisha Ann Heinrich, previously known as "Baby Jane" and "Delta Dawn", was a formerly unidentified American child murder victim whose body was found in Moss Point, Mississippi, in December 1982. The child — aged approximately 18 months — was partially smothered before she was thrown alive from the eastbound Interstate 10 bridge into the Escatawpa River, where she ultimately drowned. Her body was recovered between 36 and 48 hours after her death.[2]
On December 4, 2020, investigators announced that Heinrich had been identified via genetic genealogy research.[3] Heinrich and her mother, 23-year-old Gwendolyn Mae Clemons, had been missing since approximately November 24, 1982, from Kansas City, Missouri.[4] Clemons is believed to have been a distressed woman seen carrying an infant on December 3, 1982, close to the location where Heinrich's body was discovered.[1][5] Although a witness reported seeing an adult female's body in the same river, no further remains were ever recovered; Clemons is still considered a missing person.[6][5]
Prior to her identification, Heinrich was known as both "Delta Dawn" and "Baby Jane" due to her sex, her age, and the fact her body was discovered at daybreak close to a delta of the Escatawpa River.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
redgravewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Search for Baby Jane's ID Continues". The Clarion-Ledger. December 20, 1982.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
dnasolveswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Baker, Margaret (December 4, 2020). "Unsolved Murder of Baby Jane Haunted Mississippi Community for Years. Now, She's Been Identified". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ a b "NamUs #MP73713". National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. September 16, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
doewas invoked but never defined (see the help page).