Abandoned baby not that of missing woman

updated 9:57 p.m. ET June 23, 2007

WOOSTER, Ohio - A baby girl found on an Ohio doorstep does not belong to a missing pregnant woman, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

The baby was discovered about 45 miles from the home of Jessie Davis, who was nine months pregnant with a girl when she disappeared last week.

A woman admitted leaving the newborn on the doorstep, Wayne County Sheriff Thomas Maurer said.

“This incident is not related to the ongoing investigation by the Stark County Sheriff’s Office in the disappearance of Jessie Davis,” Maurer said in a news release.

Davis, 26, was reported missing one week ago Friday after her mother found the young woman’s bedroom in disarray, the furniture overturned and Davis’ young son home alone.

The 2-year-old boy, who may be the only witness to his mother’s disappearance, told investigators: “Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy’s in rug.”

On Friday, some 250 volunteers lined up for a second day to help search surrounding fields and woods for any sign of Davis. More than 1,800 volunteers had turned up Thursday to scour backyards, vacant fields and a Christmas tree farm.

Some were on horseback, driving golf carts or riding all-terrain vehicles. Those on foot were told to walk three feet apart to ensure they didn't overlook a tire mark, fresh dirt or some other clue to the disappearance of Jessie Davis.

NBC News video Mother speaks out June 22: TODAY's David Gregory speaks with Patty Porter, the mother of missing Ohio mom Jessie Davis. Porter's lawyer also spoke. Today show

"You just can't go home and assume somebody will take care of it," said Barb Schollaerd, 51, of North Canton. "We look after our own."

Authorities gave no indication that Thursday's search had turned up any evidence, but according to media reports, around noon an FBI evidence crew and investigators were at the site of a patch of freshly dug dirt in a field at the end of a dirt road more than a mile from Davis' home.

A team of volunteers that included members of Jessie Davis' family came upon the patch of dirt, about 6 feet long and 3 feet wide.

Family members who were with the team embraced, and Davis' father stood above the patch of earth, yelling at a photographer to get away.

Authorities at the scene throughout the afternoon would not discuss whether anything had been found.

Baby due July 3
Davis, whose baby is due July 3, was last heard from in a phone call with her mother on June 13. Two days later, her mother checked on her home in nearby Lake Township and found it in shambles, with the furniture overturned, a comforter missing and her 2-year-old grandson wandering around alone.

The little boy told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

Authorities have repeatedly talked with and searched the home of the man who fathered Davis' son, although investigators have said Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. is not a suspect. Cutts, 30, says he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance. The woman's family says he is also the father of Davis' unborn baby.

"I can't believe how many people are out there. It's amazing," said the missing woman's younger sister, Whitney Davis, who wore a T-shirt with her sister's picture and the word "Missing" in red letters. "I think we're going to find her."

The turnout Thursday made the search the largest of hundreds conducted by the internationally active group Texas EquuSearch. "We've never had that many show up at one time," said EquuSearch director Tim Miller.

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