Investigators in Winona have made a break in the “Baby Angel” cold case from 2011, according to court records.

According to a search warrant, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office has identified a possible DNA match for the mother of the baby, whose identity remains a mystery.

On Sept. 5, 2011, law enforcement responded to a report of a deceased baby found floating in the Mississippi River, just south of Homer in Winona County. The medical examiner determined the baby was likely born within two days of being found.

After exhausting all leads, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office reached out to a nonprofit called Firebird Forensics Group for assistance. Firebird Forensics Group is described as a “Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy” company, and has assisted with other law enforcement investigations, including the FBI in the “Golden State Killer” case, the warrant notes.

The sheriff’s office provided DNA information to Firebird Forensics Group to follow up on possible distant relatives but that didn’t turn up any leads, court records state.

A break in the case came in March 2023 when Firebird Forensics Group provided a possible lead to the Winona County Sheriff’s Office. The warrant notes the woman currently lived in Winona.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is not naming the woman at this time, as she has not been criminally charged in connection to this case.

When investigators approached her and asked for consent for a DNA swab, she stated she wanted to research Firebird Forensics Group first, according to the search warrant. A week later, investigators followed up but she stated she had not researched the company yet and would call back.

The warrant then states that investigators instead received a letter from a law firm, directing all future communication to them rather than the woman.

The sheriff’s office then conducted a trash pull search of the woman’s garbage, finding a discarded feminine hygiene product. The warrant notes this was collected as evidence and submitted to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for a DNA test, which found the baby “could be the possible biological child” of the woman. The BCA report states “discarded samples are not considered known samples for direct comparison” and seeks additional samples for testing.

The Winona County Sheriff’s Office filed this warrant to have a judge order the woman to comply with the DNA test. According to court records, that DNA sample was collected earlier this week.