UPDATE (7/10/15): The Mason Co. Sheriff confirmed to FOX 17 the DNA from Baby Kate and the DNA of the girl identified only as “Baby Doe” were not a match.
MASON COUNTY, Mich. -- Investigators in Ludington say they are looking into the possible connection between the still unsolved case of ‘Baby Kate’ and the recent discovery of the body of a 4-year-old ‘Baby Doe’ found in the Boston area, according to Detective Sgt. Tom Posma with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities have yet to identify the 4-year-old girl.
Posma told FOX 17 Thursday his agency was working to make contact with authorities in Massachusetts in order to share information and possible leads. Mason County prosecutor Paul Spaniola told FOX 17 the comparisons between the two cases could be prove to be a stretch. But, he said their office has sent over DNA samples of Baby Kate to be tested against samples of Baby Doe.
“Part of the reason why they put stuff out is to solicit information from not only the community but other law enforcement,” he said.
Katherine 'Baby Kate' Phillips went missing June 29, 2011.
Sean Phillips, Baby Kate’s father, is currently in prison and is accused of killing her. Investigators have never been able to find her body.
WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR A FULL TIMELINE OF THE BABY KATE CASE:
“It’s worth looking into, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it,” Posma told FOX 17. “We have to look into any kind of lead or potentiality because obviously Baby Kate has never been found so we would look into any kind of lead we got.”
Posma said there is nothing in their current investigation that indicates an obvious connection between Baby Kate’s disappearance and the Boston area, but said that doesn’t mean a connection isn’t possible.
“At this point we’re looking into it and if the pieces fall together, we’ll continue to go down that path,” he said. “We’ll put the information out and then we’ll wait for them to get back with us.”
Ashley Towns lives in the area where Baby Kate went missing. She said when she put the pictures side-by-side, she couldn't help but see the comparisons.
"There's similarities, from the jawline, to the nose, the eyes," she said. "I scrolled past it because I didn't think anything of it and then I kind of went back because the face looked a little familiar to me."
Towns said at the time when Baby Kate first went missing, she was pregnant with her first child and recalled how heartbroken she felt to learn someone else had lost their own baby. She's optimistic, while a stretch, these two cases could prove to be connected.
"I hope it brings much needed closure to the story because we've been sitting here for four years and five months now wondering where that little baby went," she said.
The remains of a young girl, who’s come to be known as ‘Baby Doe,’ were found along the rocky shoreline of Boston Harbor nearly two weeks ago. Since then, more than 45 million people have seen or shared a computer-generated image of what she may have looked like in life.
‘Baby Doe’ is believed to be about 4 years old -- with big brown eyes and brown hair reaching just below her shoulders, according to investigators. She was about 3½ feet tall and weighed about 30 pounds.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an image last week. Massachusetts State Police posted it on Facebook. In that time, more than 45 million people have seen or shared her countenance on social media, according to Renee Nadeau Algarin, deputy press secretary at the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, CNN reports.
Left, picture of 4-month-old Baby Kate before she went missing. Right, computer generated image of 4-year-old 'Baby Doe' found near Boston.
FOX 17s Doug Reardon and Troy Campbell contributed to this report.
