Police are investigating the death of an infant found outside church offices near downtown Anchorage

Anchorage police say they are investigating the death of an infant found early Friday outside a Catholic church office building near downtown Anchorage.

Few details about the death were known this week, including what might have caused the baby’s death or how the child ended up outside the building, said Capt. Amanda Fisher of the Anchorage Police Department.

Someone in the area spotted the baby around 7:45 a.m. and someone else nearby called 911, Fisher said.

Police said the infant’s body was found outside a building in the 200 block of Cordova Street, where the offices of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau are located. An archdiocese spokeswoman said police were in the building Friday before employees arrived for work, so staff were working remotely while the investigation continued.

The infant’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office and will undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death and his age, Fisher said.

Investigators want to speak with the baby’s mother to learn more about the incident, Fisher said. Police currently know very little about the circumstances of the death, including whether the mother was safe or needed help, she said.

Police are collecting surveillance footage from the area and Fisher said investigators would ask the public to call dispatch at 311 or 907-786-8900 if they have any information that could be useful to the investigation.

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