Police investigating death of infant found outside church offices near downtown Anchorage

Nov. 6—Anchorage police say they are investigating the death of an infant found early Friday outside a Catholic church office building near downtown Anchorage.

Few details were available this week about the death, including what may have caused the baby to die or how the child ended up outside the building, said Capt. Amanda Fisher of the Anchorage Police Department.

Someone in the area discovered the baby around 7:45 a.m. and someone else nearby called 911, Fisher said.

Police said the infant's body was found outside a building on the 200 block of Cordova Street, where the office of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau is located. A spokeswoman for the archdiocese said police were at the building before staff arrived for work on Friday, so employees worked remotely while the investigation was underway.

The infant's body was brought to the State Medical Examiner's Office and will undergo autopsy to determine the cause of death and his or her age, Fisher said.

Investigators want to talk to the baby's mother to learn more about what happened, Fisher said. Police at this point know very little about the circumstances surrounding the death, including if the mother is safe or needs help, she said.

Police are gathering surveillance footage from the area and Fisher said detectives are asking the public to call dispatch at 311 or 907-786-8900 if they have any information that could be useful to the investigation.