    KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Just beyond a bridge over I-70, near E. 41st Street and Pittman Road, balloons and stuffed toys sit on a small hill marking the entrance to the area a passerby discovered a baby’s body.
Squeezed into a small cutout on the busy street, soft music played as people hugged. They were there to remember Kha’liya Bridgewater. Police had identified her the day before, nearly three weeks after her body was found. Her maternal grandmother, Ruthann Hickman, was among those gathered.
“I just want to know what happened,� said Hickman. “And then maybe I can process it a little differently, a little better and actually begin the grieving process, because I don’t think I have yet.�
She described her relationship with Kha’liya’s mom as strained. She was one of several people who called police after seeing reports that a baby’s body had been found. She said her daughter told her Kha’liya had died but didn’t say how, then stopped contact.
“I’m glad that I called,� Hickman said, “so we could know as soon as we did.�
The woman who organized the vigil barely knew Kha’liya and her mom. Bailey Keele met them only once when she donated diapers and baby formula. But, that woman knows all too well what it’s like to grieve a baby’s death. She lost hers two years ago at 7 weeks old.
“This family needs love and support. Baby Kha’liya deserves love and support. She deserves to be put to rest properly,� Keele said. “That’s what the family wanted was the community come together, show her the love and support she should have had all along.�
A search warrant indicates police questioned Kha’liya’s mom and got a series of conflicting and changing accounts. No charges have been filed.
An GoFundMe page has been created to fund a burial after her body is released by the medical examiner, who has yet to make a ruling on cause of death.
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