DuPage Sheriff Announces Creation of Garden in Memory of Baby Hope

Months after Baby Hope's body was found in a backpack on a private drive in Wheaton, DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba and his team announced Tuesday they’ve created Hope’s Garden, a memorial plot that will serve as working grounds for criminal offenders while aiding the community.

The idea of the garden is to carry on the memory of Baby Hope, the sheriff’s office said in a release. Offenders who are a part of the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program will plant, grow and tend to vegetables on the land, and all produce will be donated to local food pantries.

“Although her life was short, Baby Hope made a significant impact on the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office and the community as a whole,” DuPage County Corrections Chief Shawana Davis said in the release. “That’s why Sheriff Zaruba named this community-oriented project after her. Baby Hope will now touch even more lives through the creation of Hope’s Garden.”

Police are still asking for the community’s help in finding Baby Hope’s parents and looking for any information that could be helpful in solving the case of her death. Photos of what her parents could look like are available on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, and the Illinois State Crime Commission is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to Baby Hope’s parents.

Since Baby Hope was found abandoned on land that is also part of the Winfield Township Road District, the garden will be a joint effort of the DuPage sheriff’s office and the Winfield Township Highway Commissioner, John Dusza.

Zaruba said in the release Dusza’s help has been instrumental in making the project a reality.

Work in the garden is slated to begin in spring of the new year.

“Sheriff Zaruba and his office are hopeful that Hope’s Garden will be a place that not only provides for our residents in need, but will also be a place of peace and healing,” the sheriff's office stated.

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Photo courtesy of the DuPage County Sheriff's Office