Hospital Loses Baby's Body, Robeson County, Parents Say

William Hunt and his wife Ashley could not wait to have their first child, but things did not go the way they imagined.

This past weekend, however, at just a little over five months, Ashley gave birth to a 1-pound baby boy at Southeastern Regional Medical Center. The baby, who they also named William, lived just four hours and seven minutes.

"You can't put it in words," William Hunt said. "You would have to be there, or go through it yourself."

The Hunts said that when they went to pick up their son's body, something even more unthinkable happened.

"When (the hospital worker) goes to look for him -- probably 20 to 30 minutes later, she comes back and she's like, 'I'm sorry, I don't want to tell you this, but we've misplaced your child,'" William Hunt said.

Hospital workers kept looking, but the Hunts had to hold William's memorial service without the infant's body.

Eventually, hospital workers found the baby, but would not say where or what took so long.

"The medical center regrets the delay in the delivery of the infant's remains to the family," Southeastern Regional Medical Center said in a written statement.

The Hunts said they do not blame the entire hospital, but that they are just upset with certain individuals. They said most people were very supportive and concerned.

The Hunts said they plan to start a family again one day. They dream of a baby and they do not want that dream to die with their son.