The Oak Ridge Police Department currently has two funds for Baby Wyatt, the unidentified newborn boy found dead in Melton Hill Lake almost two years ago.
The two funds are a memorial fund ($950) and a reward fund ($1,000).
Separate from those two funds, the ORPD has received a $5,246 grant for genetic testing to identify Baby Wyatt. That money will be used specifically for the Baby Wyatt investigation, and any funds left from that grant will be returned to the grant provider, Season of Justice, of Indianapolis, Indiana, the City of Oak Ridge said Monday.
Wyatt’s body was found near the bank along Melton Lake Greenway, which is along the Clinch River, just north of the Edgemoor Road bridge on Thursday, March 26, 2020.
Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith said that year that the baby boy was being called Wyatt, or “little warrior.”
In 2020, Oak Ridge Today reported that DNA samples had been taken by the medical examiner. Baby Wyatt’s race had not been determined. Police officers were not able to tell from his physical appearance. His umbilical cord was still attached before he was placed in the water, Smith said in a Facebook video. A piece of clothing was with Wyatt, although it hasn’t been described for investigative reasons.
The ORPD and Smith offered the $1,000 reward for information that could help investigators identify Wyatt. The reward included $500 from the ORPD and $500 from Smith.
There are no new leads in the case. Investigators have asked for tips and information that could help identify Wyatt.
Local residents have offered to pay for all of Wyatt’s funeral expenses, but Wyatt can’t be buried and put to rest until he is identified, Smith said in 2020.
If you have information to share with the ORPD, you can contact the ORPD by phone at (865) 425-4399, by email at [email protected], on Facebook at OakRidgePoliceDepartment, on Twitter at OakRidgePolice, or at the ORPD website at http://oakridgetn.gov/department/ORPD/Home. Information can be given anonymously.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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