For the Hub City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – A Wood County couple has been arrested following the death of a newborn child.

On April 6 at 10 a.m., Marshfield Medical Center (MMC) notified the Wood County Sheriff’s Department of a possible missing newborn child. Wood County deputies and Marshfield Police Department officers located a vehicle in the MMC parking lot that had been operated by a man identified as the father of the child.

Officers located a male newborn child wrapped in a bath towel inside a tied plastic garbage bag in the rear cargo portion of the vehicle. The child had been left in this condition for approximately three hours before being discovered. The child was rushed inside the emergency department of MMC where life-saving measures were administered. The child was temporarily revived by MMC medical personnel but eventually succumbed to his injuries and was ultimately pronounced deceased.

Deputies investigating the incident learned that during the early morning hours of April 6, a woman had given live birth to the child at a private residence in the village of Milladore. It was determined the newborn child was not taken to a medical facility for treatment or care of his injuries,

The mother, Marylinn A. Fehrer, 22, Milladore, and reported father, Allen E. Rice, 19, Milladore were taken into custody initially on charges of child neglect – causing death. A charge of homicide will be requested against the mother of the child.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the Marshfield Police Department, Wood County Human Services, and the Wood County Coroner’s Office. The Sheriff’s Department continues to work collaboratively with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigations, Wisconsin State Patrol Technical Reconstruction Unit, and the University of Wisconsin’s Forensic Pathology Unit.

Investigation into this matter is ongoing.