On Sunday afternoon, March 5, 2017, Sarah Mitchell -- 24, of Oregon City -- gave birth to two girls. The second infant developed apparent breathing complications and died a few hours later.
Sarah Mitchell and her husband Travis Lee Mitchell, 21, are members of the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City. Church members practice faith healing and reject medical care and medicine in favor of prayer and anointment with oil.
Sarah Mitchell is the sister of Shannon Hickman -- who (along with her husband Dale Hickman) was found guilty in Clackamas County Circuit Court in 2011 of second-degree manslaughter following the 2009 death of her infant son fewer than nine hours after delivery. Shannon and Dale Hickman are currently each serving out six-year prison sentences, to be followed by three years of post-prison supervision.
Sarah Mitchell delivered the two infants in the home of her parents, Walter Matthew White and Karen White, in the 1400 block of S. Loder Rd. in Oregon City. Present for the birth were family members, fellow members of the Followers of Christ congregation, and three midwives.
After the second baby developed apparent breathing problems and died in the home following delivery, church elder Carl Hansen contacted the Clackamas County Medical Examiner.
No one present for the birth contacted 911.
The medical examiner responded to the scene and determined that the surviving infant needed medical attention. The medical examiner contacted law enforcement personnel -- who persuaded the family to seek professional medical care.
The Clackamas County Medical Examiner completed its autopsy of the infant on March 6th, 2017. Cause of death investigation is on-going and pending at this time.
The surviving baby is believed to be several weeks premature, and is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Oregon Health & Science University.
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office detectives are currently investigating the infant's death -- collecting and processing evidence, reconstructing the timeline of events, and interviewing witnesses to the births as well as members of the family and Followers of Christ Church.