Authorities in Michigan, USA, are urgently searching for a newborn baby after the body of the child's mother, who was full-term pregnant, was discovered in a woodland area.
A Tragic Discovery in the Forest
Rebecca Park, who was 39 weeks pregnant, was found deceased in the Manistee National Forest. The grim discovery was made just days before her expected delivery date. Crucially, there was no sign of her baby at the scene, prompting a major investigation and a desperate search for the infant.
Rebecca was last seen alive on the evening of November 4. She was leaving her mother's house in Michigan and was observed getting into the passenger side of a dark-coloured car. After that sighting, she was not heard from again. Her phone was later found near her mother's home.
She had initially been reported missing from Boon Township, which is located nearly 50 miles away from the forest where her body was eventually found.
Arrests Made in Connection with the Case
Two individuals close to Rebecca have been taken into custody, though formal charges related directly to her death are pending further investigation.
Her fiancé, Richard Lee Falor, 43, was detained the same night her body was discovered. Falor is a convicted sex offender. He currently faces charges for two drug-related crimes and is being held on a $1,000,000 cash bond, deemed a flight and community risk. Due to his status as a habitual offender, he potentially faces a life sentence on the drug charges.
Interestingly, Falor had spoken to the media when Rebecca first disappeared. He recounted her last words to her mother, stating, "Becca told her mom, 'Hold on. I got somebody to pick me up. This is just something I got to do. I'm sorry.'" He described a black sedan pulling up and her getting in.
Rebecca's 21-year-old sister, Kimberly Park, has also been arrested. She is charged with tampering with evidence in a criminal case, lying to a police officer during a violent crime investigation, and filing a false police report. She is being held at the Wexford County Jail on a $750,000 cash bond.
Family's Heartbreak and Police Investigation
Rebecca's adoptive mother, Stephanie Park, broke her family's public silence following the tragic discovery. She explained they had remained quiet during the search to avoid jeopardizing the investigation but now want the world to know Rebecca was deeply loved.
"She had some mental illnesses and some troubles. She was a loving person, but she had her problems," Stephanie Park said. "She deserves to be remembered as the sweet girl that she was when she was younger." She added that she never believed Rebecca had run away with the baby and that the family had prepared themselves for a tragic outcome.
Police have stated that Rebecca's official cause of death is still under investigation. They are releasing only "extremely limited" information to the public due to the sensitive and ongoing nature of the case. The primary focus remains locating her missing baby.
