Miscarriage or Crime? Airplane Fetus Probed

March 31, 2008— -- Houston authorities are interviewing a "juvenile" who might be the mother of a dead fetus found Sunday in an airplane bathroom trash can.

The fetus was stillborn and not viable, according to preliminary autopsy results, said a police spokesman.

John Cannon, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, confirmed to ABC News that authorities had identified and were talking to a specific, unnamed "juvenile" who may have been involved in the disposing of the fetus.

"A juvenile has been located for questioning," Cannon said.

Investigators told ABC News affiliate KTRK in Houston that the juvenile was an eighth grade girl who told them she didn't know she was pregnant.

The teen was returning home from a local school trip, according to KTRK.

A spokesman for the FBI said that a full examination by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office will help determine whether charges might be filed.

"We are still trying to determine whether this was a private medical emergency or if this was a crime," Shauna Dunlap, a spokesman for the FBI's Houston field office, told ABC News. "It's leaning toward a private medical investigation."

The investigation began around 5:15 p.m. Sunday, when a member of an airplane cleaning crew aboard a Continental Airlines plane made the grisly find on board.

The plane, Flight 433, had just completed a nonstop flight to Houston's George Bush International airport, from New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Dunlap discounted some early news reports that suggested the baby was delivered alive before being disposed of.

Any type of crime or potential crime aboard a plane in the air triggers FBI involvement.

If necessary, investigators may rely on the flight's passenger list to interview potential eyewitnesses, Cannon said.

A spokeswoman for Continental Airlines declined to comment, citing passenger privacy and referring questions to local authorities.

Marcus Baram contributed to this report.