The Oak Ridge Police Department has received a $5,246 grant for genetic testing to identify Baby Wyatt Doe, the newborn boy found dead in Melton Hill Lake almost two years ago.

The grant is from a nonprofit organization, Season of Justice, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The Oak Ridge City Council could accept the grant for the ORPD during a meeting on 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.

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