Abandoned Boy

The lead story this week here in Maine has been about a little boy’s body that was found in South Berwick. Someone found a little blue-eyed, blonde haired boy by the side of the road last Saturday morning. There weren’t any identifying characteristics as far as ID was concerned. No name written on the clothes, no ID in the pocket, nothing around the body that would identify who the little boy was or who left him there.

The authorities issued a computer generated picture of what the boy looked like rather than an actual picture of the body. So, on every newscast and in every newspaper, there was a picture of an adorable little boy with big blue eyes staring out just begging for someone to identify him.

People rallied around, candlelight vigils were held, and speculation flew around. I found it interesting the theories that came out. Some people said that it just had to be someone local because the road he was found on is really off the beaten path and only local people would know about it. But people couldn’t figure out why someone local hadn’t reported a child missing. No one in the South Berwick area had said that there was a little boy who hadn’t been seen recently.

The problem with the theory that the road wasn’t used by anyone but local people is that, if one was to want to dispose of a body, wouldn’t they look for a really obscure road that is off the beaten path? Maine is full of these kinds of roads. One road will twist around and lead to another road that will have single lane dirt road that winds through the woods leading to yet another obscure road. Now that I have a GPS I am finding all kinds of different ways to get where I need to go. Just because a road is not normally used by anyone but local people doesn’t mean that someone with a GPS or a good map couldn’t find it and use it.

Another detail that came out during the week was that a blue pick-up truck had been seen in the area around the time the little boy was abandoned. The blue pick-up had a Navy insignia around the license plate. This ended up being a huge clue.

The truck was spotted in Massachusetts and a woman was found sitting in it reading a Bible. She was questioned and has now been charged with the murder of her son.

Why did she do it? That hasn’t been released yet. How did she do it? That also hasn’t been released. Who is the father of the little boy? Her ex-husband has come forward as well as a former boyfriend. Both have denied fathering this child.

I’m sure as time goes on, the holes in the story will be filled in. We will find out who the father is, why the mother killed her little boy and how she actually did it. In the mean time, she is being held on two different murder charges, people have come forward to offer to bury the little boy if the family can’t afford it and the story is gradually being pushed back further in the news.

It really does bother me that a beautiful little boy was murdered. Killed by the one person who should love him and care for him above others. Abandoned like he was just trash.

But it also bothers me that if the mother had picked an even more obscure road, maybe one up in The County (Aroostook County…for those who don’t live in Maine), it could be that the little boy’s body would never have been found. Or it would have been found years from now and, by then, the mother would have been long gone and he would never have been identified.

This brings to mind a story my dad told me. He told me that a group of teenagers were playing at a lake one sunny summer day. As the afternoon came to a close, the kids started gathering their clothes and other belongings and they saw a girl in a yellow bikini lying by the lake. Dead. No one knew who she was and there weren’t any other clothes around that would have belonged to her. Nothing. No identifying marks on the girl. Nothing but a yellow bikini.

The authorities looked into it and no one in the area reported the girl as missing. No one missed her. No parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, boyfriend, or friends ever came forward saying that the girl belonged to them.

My dad said that was the whole story. A girl died by a lake in Michigan wearing nothing but a yellow bikini and that was all anyone ever knew about her.

The little boy here in Maine could have been as mysterious as the girl in the yellow bikini. He could have been an identified body no one every claimed. Sure, people would have offered to bury him and prayers would have been said and clues would have been gathered. But he could have remained just the cute little blond boy with big blue eyes forever.

So it just doesn’t bother me that this woman killed her son. It also bothers me that she left him with no identity. Like he meant nothing. She carried him for nine months, gave birth to him, cared for him and loved him for six years and then just threw him away. Some people don’t deserve the blessings God has given them. Sometimes I wonder if punishments shouldn’t fit the crime. In other words, not only should the mother be punished for the murder but she should be abandoned the way her son was abandoned. I’m not sure what that looks like but she deserves more than just life in prison.

Then again, that is very vengeful and I don’t believe in vengeance. At least not human vengeance. That is God’s territory. I guess we should try to be understanding and realize that this woman is off her rocker. And her son is safe now. Safe in heaven. Safe from a mother who can’t harm him anymore. Safe to rest in peace.