Tiny Baby Buried, Named by Police Dispatcher

It was a traumatic event, taking a 911 call from a man last May reporting that he had found a newborn baby in a dumpster out in back of some apartments. But now, that Union City (N. Calif.) dispatcher has helped bring peace to everyone who handled the tragic event, by providing a name for the tiny girl at her burial today: Matea Experanza–derived from “gift from God” and “hope.” She will be wearing a donated white christening dress. A local funeral home has donated space for a memorial service and a gravesite, with a headstone that reads, “Adopted with love by UCPD.” Police said the infant still had the umbilical cord attached, and was within blocks from a fire house, and a half-mile from the police station, where the mother could have dropped off the child with no questions asked. No one came forward to claim the child, so the entire police department stepped in. “This case has touched so many people in our department,” said Det. Steven Mendez.