A&E City Confidential Features “Boston's Little Girl Lost”
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Dan Herman and Lt. Robert Murphy were honored for their tireless work on the case of “Baby Doe,” during the NCMEC Hope Awards-2016
Tonight, nearly eight years after her case was brought to public attention, A&E will feature the heartbreaking story of how an unknown little girl gained her name back in their premiere episode of City Confidential.
It was June 2015 in Massachusetts when the body of a small girl washed ashore on an island in Boston Harbor. The young girl and her story gained national attention, yet no one knew her name.
So, they called her Baby Doe.
Baby Doe captured the hearts of Boston and headlines across the country. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children joined Massachusetts law enforcement agencies in the search for her identity. NCMEC’s resources included a composite of what Baby Doe may have looked like in life, completed by forensic artist, Christi Andrews.
NCMEC Forensic Artist, Christi Andrews
NCMEC’s unique facial reconstruction technology has been used to create more than 600 reconstructions for unidentified children. Forensic artists work closely with our case managers who are helping law enforcement determine the child’s identity. As of 2021, NCMEC had assisted in 200 identifications of unidentified deceased children.
In Baby Doe’s case, the life-like reconstruction photo generated even more publicity for the case, leading over 50 million people to share her image on social media. And then, almost three months after she was discovered, Baby Doe was identified.
Her name was Bella Bond.
The resemblance of her real photo to Christi’s reconstruction was striking. The two were incredibly similar.
Actual picture of Bella next to "Baby Doe" reconstruction image.
NCMEC honored Massachusetts State Police Trooper Dan Herman and Lt. Robert Murphy for their tireless work on the case of “Baby Doe” at our Hope Awards in 2016. Now, Bella’s case is brought to light again, by A&E’s City Confidential.
The show explores crimes that have impacted cities and towns across America. According to their website, City Confidential goes “beyond headlines to showcase the emotional and unexpected stories that catapulted unique communities, both large and small, into the public eye.”
City Confidential's newest season premieres tonight, March 23, with an episode titled, “Boston's Little Girl Lost.” The episode explores Bella’s case, the residents who rallied around her and how police solved the heartbreaking mystery of her identity.
The episode also includes an interview with NCMEC Forensic Artist, Christi Andrews, exploring how Christi created the facial reconstruction photo that brought Baby Doe’s face to the public.
NCMEC Forensic Artist, Christi Andrews
Tune in tonight, March 23, to the premiere episode of City Confidential at 10/9c on A&E.
Learn more about NCMEC’s Help ID Me Program and facial reconstructions on our website here: https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/helpidme