Hunt for foetus cut out of woman's body

Police are searching for an eight-month-old foetus that was cut from the body of her murdered mother and stolen by her attackers in Missouri. Officials said they believe the baby girl could still be alive.

Police are searching for an eight-month-old foetus that was cut from the body of her murdered mother and stolen by her attackers in Missouri. Officials said they believe the baby girl could still be alive.

"Someone was wanting a baby an awful lot," Nodaway County Sheriff Bill Epsey said. "I believe there is a live, eight-month-old foetus out there and we need to find it. The body of Bobi Jo Stinnett, 23, was found in her home by her mother on Thursday in Skidmore, a town 100 miles north of Kansas City. Police said that Mrs Stinnett had been strangled no more than an hour earlier. Evidence suggested the attackers had planned to take the foetus alive, they added.

Three suspects, two men and a woman in a red Honda Civic, were reportedly seen in the city of Fairfax, close to the border with Iowa. Sheriff Epsey asked people to report spotting items such as bloody clothing or towels. Hospitals have been asked to report anyone bringing in a baby girl suffering from problems associated with early birth.

"The doctors who examined Bobbi Jo gave us information indicating we probably would have a live child if we could find it," Sheriff Espey said. "The child would be in danger, being one month premature."

Mrs Stinnett, who worked at a Kawasaki manufacturing plant, had been married for about a year and was keen to start a family. The foetus was her first child. Detectives said that there were no visible signs of struggle and no evidence that her attackers had broken in.