Hundreds honor 'Baby Grace' found dead in toilet at Michigan music festival

Hundreds of strangers gathered to mourn a newborn found dead inside a portable toilet at the Electric Forest music festival in Michigan. The infant is known as “Grace” because her family has not been identified.

Grace was laid to rest Monday at Georgetown Cemetery in Hudsonville. A funeral service at Fair Haven Church invited people to pay their respects four months after a maintenance worker discovered the newborn dead inside a portable toilet in the festival’s camping area in Rothbury.

Hudsonville resident Travis Byrnes, who was appointed in October by Oceana County Probate Court to arrange the baby’s burial, read a letter he had written for Grace during the service.

"When she was discovered, it just broke me," Byrnes told reporters at the service. "I wept, and I felt that I had lost something. ... This poor little girl would never be held by a father or mother." 

Byrnes thanked the more than 300 people who attended, as well as the community members and organizations that helped arrange the service. Attendees also had a chance to write letters for the baby, who was laid to rest in a pink onesie that once belonged to one of Byrnes’ daughters, MLive reported.

“Woven into the threads are a million moments: spilled milk, late nights, burps, spit-ups, blowouts, pajama grocery runs with mom because everyone is exhausted,” Byrnes read from his letter.

Byrnes also gave the infant a headstone that reads:

“In Loving Memory

Baby Grace

June 27, 2026”

A death certificate filed with the Oceana County Clerk’s Office on July 24 identified the newborn as “Baby Doe” and listed her age as one minute, Fox 17 reports. The document also stated that the infant died on June 27, one day before the maintenance worker discovered her body inside a portable toilet.

An autopsy showed the baby was full term and had been born alive, authorities said.

The FBI joined the Michigan State Police’s investigation into the newborn’s death. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information “leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual or individuals involved in the death of the infant.”

Byrnes had petitioned an Oceana County judge for the right to give the newborn a burial and a funeral. After receiving permission, he named the baby Grace. Organizers of the service said the name could be changed if her family is ever identified, MLive reported.

At the end of Grace’s funeral service, mourners sang “Jesus Loves Me” and gathered roses. They then followed the small white casket to Georgetown Cemetery, the outlet noted.

Before attendees left, Byrnes encouraged them to remember Grace and let her story inspire them to do good.

“My hope is that (as everyone) leaves this place, they do good onto others,” he said. “Open a door. Pick up a piece of trash. It’s those little moments — that’s what changes community. That’s what drives community.”