Maryville holds memorial for infant found at Lake Mozingo
By Chris Fortune
Members of the Maryville community honored an infant who was found dead at Mozingo Lake as the investigation into the case continues.
The city of Maryville organized a graveside memorial service for the baby boy Thursday at Oak Hill Cemetery, where a crowd gathered and silently listened as a local pastor shared scriptures and led them in prayer.
“With the child not having family here today, we wanted to make sure we gave this child the honor due in the passing,” The Bridge Pastor Chad Mayne said. “So I was glad that I had the honor to do that.”
Visitors laid flowers as they exited the service, which City Manager Greg McDanel said was important for the community to move forward.
“The situation has been difficult for our community members, for our employees, for our officers,” McDanel said. “Today was just an opportunity to come together as a community and start the healing process.”
It has been a unique and difficult case for the Maryville Police Department, which Maryville Interim Police Chief Mike Stolte said affected the Mozingo Lake Recreation Park employee who found the infant and officers who responded to the scene.
“This isn’t something that we should deal with on a daily basis,” Stolte said “It’s been an eye-opening and learning experience.”
Maryville police announced that they identified a person of interest in the case in a press release Wednesday.
“We’re not releasing any information on them right now,” Stolte said. “We did want to make the point that they don’t have any ties to this community.”
The police department is awaiting DNA analysis from the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crime lab and autopsy results before forwarding the case to the Nodaway County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I wish we could speed up the process, but we really are at the mercy of the results coming to us right now,” Stolte said.
