The New York Police Department has identified the father of `` Baby Hope '' and want to speak with him as part of their 22-year investigation into the girl 's death . Police stopped short of calling the man a suspect . `` He is someone we definitely have to talk to , '' NYPD Assistant Chief Joe Reznick told CNN on Thursday , `` But can we arrest him for this right now ? The answer is no , definitely not . '' Investigators are looking for the father and believe he is in New York City . `` We 're very interested in him , '' a law enforcement official told CNN . `` Baby Hope , '' a little girl whose body was found in a blue and white picnic cooler in a wooded area near the Henry Hudson Parkway on July 23 , 1991 , was never identified until this week . Police now believe `` Baby Hope '' was South American , according to Reznick . Reznick is `` confident '' an arrest will be made in this case , but could not state when that might happen . `` Trust me when I say the investigation is probably more active now than it 's ever been during the course of 22 years , '' Reznick said . As CNN previously reported , police have identified the little girl and her mother but will not make either name public because of the ongoing investigation . The girl , then believed to be 3 to 5 years old , was smothered and sexually molested . Her body was so badly decomposed that several sketches were made to suggest what she looked like . Thanks to a tip , the department confirmed the identity of the girl 's mother through DNA testing , according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly . The body was exhumed in 2011 . `` A DNA match was made with the mother and the mother has been cooperating , '' Kelly told reporters Tuesday . He declined to name the mother or provide details on the case . `` Homicide is a distinct possibility here , so it 's going to go forward in that direction , '' Kelly said of the investigation . The girl was never reported missing and police could not track down anyone who might have known her . The NYPD Cold Case Apprehension Squad never gave up hope , continuing to hand out flyers and canvas nearby neighborhoods every year on the anniversary of the discovery of the body . `` We have been able to identify the mother of Baby Hope as a result of , in my judgment , outstanding detective work , '' Kelly said on Tuesday . NYPD has n't given up on Baby Hope . Detective Robert Dewhurst , a member of the squad , told CNN in July that several detectives were still on the case and that people with information may speak many years later for many reasons , such as feeling safer after moving to a new area where they do n't see the person responsible every day . Sometimes people `` want to get it off their chest , '' said Dewhurst . For months after Baby Hope 's body was found , police went back to the site hoping whoever was responsible , driven by guilt , had left some type of memorial that would have helped police . Baby Hope , two years after she was found , was laid to rest in a donated plot . She was buried in a white dress bought by a detective 's wife .
Body of unidentified child -- named Baby Hope by police -- was found on July 23 , 1991 . The body had been in a shallow grave for about two weeks when it was discovered. NYPD assistant chief : `` Confident '' an arrest will be made . Authorities able to identify the mother through tip , DNA .