A West Michigan community came together Monday to remember a baby girl found dead inside a portable toilet at a music festival.
Michigan State Police said the child, later called “Baby Grace,” was born alive inside a portable toilet at the Good Life camping area during the Electric Forest Music Festival in Rothbury on June 28.
The Oceana County medical examiner determined that the newborn lived for about one minute. Her parents have not been identified or located.
About 350 people gathered at Fair Haven Church on Monday to honor the baby as authorities continued searching for her parents.
The memorial service was organized by Fair Haven church member and father of two Travis Byrnes. After being granted custody of the infant’s remains through Oceana County Probate Court, Byrnes chose the name Grace. He said the name could be changed if her biological family is eventually found.
Before the service, Byrnes said he hoped a large crowd would attend to surround the girl with the love she never had the opportunity to know.
“My hope for this funeral is that we just have 5,000 people show up… everyone standing for this little girl,” he told News 8.
“When you try to defeat the evil in this world or the darkness or bad things, it’s not great power that can put the darkness at bay, it’s all of us. It’s all of us coming together.”
Nearly four months after a baby was found dead at Electric Forest Music Festival (pictured), the newborn was laid to rest as 350 people gathered at Fair Haven Church
The service was organized by father of two Travis Byrnes, who was granted custody of the infant’s remains through Oceana County Probate Court
Fair Haven Pastor Greg VanderMeer said the ceremony gave the community a chance to put its faith into action.
“Baby Grace is loved by God and loved by us. Holding a ceremony for her is what love looks like. This is a moment for us to put our faith into practice,” he said.
Mourners were visibly moved by the community’s effort to give the baby a respectful farewell.
One attendee said the child deserved to be remembered by people who cared that she had lived, even if only for less than a minute.
“I feel deeply that this was a child that was loved by God and that she deserves a dignified goodbye amongst people that care that she lived, even if for less than a minute,” she said.
She also expressed hope that the baby’s parents would find peace and receive the support they need.
“It’s inconceivable to me how this could happen. I pray that (the parents) find peace. I pray that they find some saving grace through all of this.”
Following the service, roughly 75 mourners joined a procession to Georgetown Cemetery, where Grace was buried in a plot donated by Byrnes’ family.
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Her grave is next to that of Byrnes’ grandmother, Karen Watson, whom he believes would have welcomed the baby with open arms.
“The family was more than willing to give a plot for this little girl,” he said.
Byrnes named the baby “Grace,” and she was buried in a plot donated by his family as the FBI continues searching for her parents
“Because those who can, they must. If you have the capacity to help, it’s your duty to help. So, my family came together and were more than gracious to help me with this endeavor.”
The grave and a flat marker have already been paid for privately.
Byrnes is now seeking donations for an upright monument that will make the grave easier to locate.
He also arranged for more than 50 handwritten messages from mourners and members of the public to be placed in the grave.
The notes were meant to surround Grace with words of love, giving her memories she never had the chance to create herself.
A pink baby blanket, stuffed animals, socks and other keepsakes were buried with her as well.
One mourner commended the Byrnes family for stepping in to care for the baby when she had no one else.
“God bless the family that stepped up and organized this and put this all together. And what a blessing to have, to be able to have that for that baby,” she told News 8.
She said she hoped the baby’s mother would eventually get the assistance she needs.
“I just hope that sometime, somehow this all comes to a close, and (the mother) can get the help that she obviously needs, no matter what age she is,” she said.
“We don’t know the circumstances, we don’t know the backstory behind it all.”
Although Monday’s service marked an emotional goodbye, the investigation into Grace’s death is still active.
Michigan State Police and the FBI are working to identify her parents and determine what happened before the newborn was abandoned inside the festival portable toilet.
In July, the FBI offered a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the baby’s death.
