Phoenix authorities announced on Friday that a woman, who is accused of abandoning her newborn baby in a garbage can at a Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport over 18 years ago, has been arrested and extradited to Arizona.

“Baby Skylar” was the nickname given to the victim in the case that remained unsolved for nearly two decades and have left detectives determined to find the suspect.

51-year-old Annie Anderson was detained at the Maricopa County Intake, Transfer and Release facility in Phoenix on Thursday evening on multiple charges: first-degree murder, child abuse, and hiding a deceased body. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has stated that she is not qualified for release.

Since Anderson’s arrest earlier this year, she has been detained in Snohomish County, Washington.

On October 10, 2005, a newborn girl was discovered deceased, left in the garbage in a bathroom at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Phoenix Police Department reported that the infant’s body was concealed in a hotel bag.

After a medical review, it was reported that the victim, named Baby Skylar, tragically passed away after only 24 hours of being alive.

The FBI and Phoenix Police detectives re-examined the evidence gathered at the scene after 16 years, ingniting an effort to solve the case. According to authorities, they utilized the methods of Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) to determine Anderson as a potential suspect.

Arizona investigators traveled to Washington to conduct a search warrant and question Anderson. According to authorities, she reportedly admitted to being the biological mother of Baby Skylar. She admitted that she had attended a real estate conference in Phoenix in 2005.

The arrest of Anderson was authorized by a warrant issued by a grand jury in Maricopa County.

Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner praised the professionalism and success of his deputies in extraditing the suspect, with the collaboration of MCAO and Phoenix Police. This closed a case that had been haunting the community for almost twenty years, reaffirming their commitment to community safety and fairness.