Leesburg resident Carla Anderson never wants to have to do what community volunteers did Monday as they buried Baby Hope.
“No parent wants to bury a child,” said Anderson, president of Loudoun County Crime Solvers and mother of an 11-year-old boy. “For parents and soon-to-be parents out here, it’s a heartbreak you could never imagine.”
Anderson was one of about 40 people to attend a graveside service at the Sterling Cemetery for an abandoned newborn girl named Baby Hope. A few people cried for the infant, who was found last month wrapped in a towel near a creek bed in Sugarland Run. Others placed flowers and cards on her grave. Many bowed their heads in prayer. And one man sang, Eugene Thomas of the Sterling Funeral Home.
“I was touched by what I saw,” said Ashburn resident Sarah Cavanaugh. “It’s just a baby. Someone didn’t want it, but we did.”
Local businesses and members of the community volunteered their time and services to provide a proper burial for Baby Hope. The Sterling Funeral Home donated a casket and use of a hearse, C.P. Fletcher, a burial place at the cemetery, and an anonymous community member, a handmade gown for the girl to wear. Flower shops and community members provided flowers and teddy bears to place by the grave marker, which also was donated.
“We want all prospective mothers to know there is hope,” said the Rev. Charles “Charlie” Grant, chaplain for public safety agencies and a Sterling resident. “There are many people here ready and willing to help. I’ve heard that over and over again from the people who called me. I think it’s very fitting they named her Hope.”
SHERIFF’S OFFICE members chose the name to represent the hope that future birthing mothers know help is available, according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office.
“There is help in Loudoun County. No one should have to go through this,” said Sheriff Stephen Simpson.
Investigators working on the case wanted the Sheriff’s Office to get more involved in the community’s response to the incident, Simpson said. Community members had asked them what they could do to help and show the baby that she is loved. The Sheriff’s Office agreed to assist with coordinating donations and planning the graveside service.
“This affected the community as a whole, and we’re part of the community. I felt it was appropriate to be involved to this extent,” Simpson said.
At the same time, the Sheriff’s Office is continuing a search for the mother and has conducted three canvasses so far, including door-to-door visits in eastern Loudoun and traffic stops along Sugarland Drive. The Sheriff’s Office handed out 1,000 fliers during a traffic canvass last week.
"We don't know the circumstances of the birth," said Kraig Troxell, public information officer for the Sheriff's Office, adding that the mother may be suffering the effects of the birth or a form of depression. "We'd like to find this woman and hope she comes forward as well. We're concerned about her health right now, and that's first and foremost."
“I don’t want the mom to live with this for the rest of her life,” said Christina Mason, vice-president of the Sterling Funeral Home and a Sterling resident. “If she would just come forward, there are a lot of people praying for her, and there’s a lot ready to help her.”
“We’re here to love and support the mother and get her the help she needs,” Anderson said.