The remains of a newborn baby who died shortly after birth were lost this month at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to police.
The baby boy's body went missing some time between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21, Cincinnati Police Department spokeswoman Teresa Theetge said Tuesday.
Theetge told NBC News that police were contacted "to help the family sort the information that was provided to them," but she could not provide additional details because authorities decided the case was a civil matter.
The family was not identified, and Cincinnati police are not conducting a criminal investigation.
A search of a landfill near the hospital turned up no sign of the baby's body, according to The Associated Press, which reported the child had died an hour after birth on Sept. 14.
Multiple attempts to reach the University of Cincinnati Medical Center went unanswered Tuesday. Hospital officials released a statement calling what happened a "tragedy" for the family.
"This situation was unacceptable and we make no excuses. We have offered our deepest sympathy to the family and any support or resources we can make available to them," UC Health's President and CEO Richard Lofgren said in the statement.
Lofgren said that an investigative team was combing over "every fact, every process, and every action" that led to the incident to determine how it happened.
"We have already begun to put in place steps to ensure that this kind of tragic human error cannot occur again," Lofgren said.
