NamUS #UP137660: Newborn Black Female Found on a Beach

By: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: February 1st, 2025

UP137660 is an unidentified female who was found on a beach on June 14th, 1951 in Hampton, Virginia. I think we are looking at a newborn baby in this case. This Jane Doe's NamUs page states that she was in the pre-adolescent group and that she had been dead for about two days at the time of her dead body's discovery.

Usually, the dead giveaway for a newborn baby as a Jane Doe is the height and weight (ie. they are exceptionally small). In this case, NamUs does not have those details provided.

NamUS #UP137660: In the News

However, I am pretty sure that I found a news story covering this event. As reported in the Daily Press on June 15th, 1951, two boys found a black newborn baby on a beach in an area called Phoebus. 

NamUs does say the body was found "laying on a beach" so the NamUs description does match the news story below. Furthermore, the date matches as does the sex, race, and location (Phoebus is in Hampton, Virginia).


These kinds of cases sometimes involve a mother who felt like she couldn't care for her child. But I don't think that amateurs will turn up a clue in this mystery. If it gets solved, then it would likely be the result of DNA, if they can get an adequate sample.

I posted the news piece in case anyone was interested in trying to expand the details. The youths mentioned in the article, if alive today, would be at least in their late 70s.

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