Abandoned 'Baby Mary' Remembered In Mendham On Christmas Eve

MENDHAM, NJ — Every town has a story that unites the entire community, bringing neighbors from different generations together. In Mendham Township, that story is the unsolved case of Baby Mary.

Every year on Christmas Eve, officers from the Mendham Township Police Department and members of the public gather at Mary's grave to honor her, and this year is no exception.

On Saturday, Dec. 24, at 12 p.m., officers from the MTPD will hold a small graveside service in her honor, along with other members of the community, to ensure she is not forgotten.

This year would have been Mary's 38th birthday.

According to police, Mary was a newborn on Christmas Eve 1984 when she was abandoned in trash bags near a waterfall off Mount Pleasant Road to die of exposure. Her body was discovered by two boys fishing at Woodland Lake in Dismal Harmony Park at noon that day.

Her umbilical cord was still attached, and authorities believe the abandoned infant died alone from exposure to the elements and hypothermia.

Although the police department reopened the cold case in 2014, the long-standing mystery of who abandoned the infant has yet to be solved. According to Chief Ross Johnson, the case remains open as an active case and no updates can be made to the public at this time.

Following the discovery of baby Mary, the MTPD took custody of her body with the help of the chaplain Father Mike Drury.

Drury named the baby girl, “Mary,” and her body was buried properly at St. Joseph Church cemetery off Route 24, in Mendham Borough, where she remains to this day.

Mary is currently resting near another unknown baby, "Hope," a cold case of an abandoned infant found dead near Route 78 on Dec. 18, 1991, who was discovered seven years after Mary was found, police said.

Despite the fact that her case has been open since 2014, the number of resources at the disposal of law enforcement has increased dramatically both since her body was found and since 2014, raising hopes that justice will be served.

All members of the public who wish to pay their respects and honor the meaningful but brief life of baby Mary are invited to the memorial service on Saturday, police said.