Tips Pour In From Around Country In Baby Grace Case

HOUSTON -- Hundreds of tips from around the country have poured in after authorities asked for help in identifying the remains of a young girl discovered inside a storage box that washed ashore on Galveston Bay.

Sketches of the child, who police call "Baby Grace," were released Friday.

"We're sorting through a lot of leads," said Major Ray Tuttoilmondo with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. "Nothing has hit a home run yet."

Forensic dental examination has narrowed the girl's age to between 2 and 3 years. She is described as white, 32 to 35 inches tall and 25 to 30 pounds. She had waist-long, wavy blond or light brown hair. She was wearing a Target-brand pink, flowing skirt, a pink or red shirt and white light-up tennis shoes with purple flowers on them.

Several callers believe that the child's body may be that of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl whose disappearance from a resort hotel in Portugal in May has made international headlines, Tuttoilmondo said.

"Based on the totality of the circumstances, we do not believe it's her (Madeleine)," Tuttoilmondo said and added that his office is working with the FBI to completely rule out the possibility.

Local authorities and the FBI are going through missing person reports from across country in an effort to identify the girl.

"It's a slow process," Tuttoilmondo said. "We have to call the original investigating agency and see if anything matches up."

Galveston County Crime Stoppers set up a memorial fund to pay for her funeral as well as an account to offer a reward for anyone who helps to solve this crime.

A prayer vigil was held Sunday afternoon.

A fisherman found the girl late Monday night. Her body was inside a blue plastic utility box that washed ashore along the Intercoastal Waterway.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the child had been dead for at least two weeks and sustained a skull fracture. The cause of death has not been determined but authorities are treating the case as a homicide.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Galveston County sheriff's Office at 409-766-2222, the agency's tip line at 866-248-8477 or any Crime Stoppers organization.