The family of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley has released a statement sharing that they are “utterly devastated” after their daughter, Alexandra Eckersley, was accused of abandoning her newborn baby in the woods in New Hampshire. Eckersley had given birth on Christmas night, December 25th, 2022, while living in a tent in the Manchester, N.H. woods.
According to police, Eckersley had called 911 shortly after midnight on Dec. 26 stating that she had given birth and did not remember where her child may be. After first being led to a nearby baseball field, emergency personnel were tasked with searching the woods for the child in 15-degree temperatures.
The baby, a boy weighing nearly four and a half pounds and believed to have been born approximately six months into the pregnancy, was eventually found inside a tent at a campsite. Eckersley told police that she had used cocaine within the previous two days while also claiming that she had no idea she was pregnant, believing she was constipated or hemorrhaging when she went into pain on Christmas Day.
“It is heartbreaking that a child was born under such unthinkable conditions and in such tragic circumstances. We learned with everyone else from news reports what happened and are still in complete shock,” read the family statement. “We had no prior knowledge of Allie’s pregnancy.
Alexandra Eckersley has a long history of drug abuse and homelessness.
