Investigators searching for a baby believed to have been born to an Attleboro cult mom are trying to track down two sect members who they say may be hiding the infant.
``We're looking for Mark and Trinette Daneau. We think they either know where the baby is or may be in possession of the child,'' Department of Social Services commissioner Harry Spence said.
The Daneaus, who haven't been seen since August, are members of ``The Body,'' a religious sect that practices home births and rejects modern medicine. Member Rebecca Corneau, whose son, Jeremiah, died an allegedly preventable death during a 1999 home birth, is believed to have given birth again and authorities are trying to find the child.
``We are reasonably confident that a child was born,'' Spence said. ``There were persons who observed Rebecca Corneau in labor just after Thanksgiving.''
Jeremiah was secretly buried in Maine in the fall of 1999 along with his 10-month-old cousin, Samuel Robidoux, who was allegedly starved to death by his parents, Jacques and Karen Robidoux. Corneau, who has had four daughters taken by DSS since the probe into the boys' deaths began, was one of several cultists living in the Attleboro house where prosecutors say Samuel was starved to death. The Robidouxes are awaiting trial on murder charges. Corneau has not been charged.
Yesterday, investigators continued probing John Hunter, a fringe member of the group who owns a Rehoboth farm where officials found an infant swing last week. Hunter, a reputed religious fanatic, has teenage children but no babies. He has refused to cooperate with the probe.
Spence defended DSS' actions, saying charges from the Corneaus' lawyer that the state is on a ``witch hunt'' are ``outrageous.''
``There's evidence of a birth and we have two dead children,'' Spence said. ``That's a hell of a reason to go forward. We have both jurisdiction and a clear responsibility to ensure the child's safety.''