An abandoned newborn girl with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached was discovered in bushes outside a Florida trailer park.
The baby, believed to have been born just an hour before it was dumped in the woodland, was found by stunned neighbors in Mulberry after investigating what they initially believed was a cat’s crying.
Residents called police after making the startling find around 2 a.m. Saturday. Polk County medical workers rushed the baby to a nearby hospital, where she was reported healthy and safe, according to the sheriff’s office.
“I was really surprised that they left a poor little girl on the floor,” 12-year-old Eulia Gregorio, who found the abandoned child with her mother, Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez, told WFTS.
Despite “safe haven” laws that allow parents to legally dispose of their newborns, the child was instead left in deep shrubs and bushes outside a trailer park. Pictured: The place where residents found the crying newborn baby girl
The newborn baby was found around 2 a.m. Saturday morning near a trailer park in Mulberry, Fla
12-year-old Eulia Gregorio, one of the residents who found the child, said she was “really surprised” that the baby’s mother left her
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the identity of the baby’s mother is still unknown, although his deputies went door-to-door searching the area.
“We’ve worked all over the community and no one claims to know who the mother is,” the sheriff said. “So far nobody has cooperated if they knew something.”
“It was by the grace of God that we found the abandoned girl before she harmed the cold or any animals.
“She was left in an extremely vulnerable state, but she’s a strong little girl and looks like she’s doing fine.”
Despite being stranded in the middle of the night when the temperature was in the 50s, Judd said the baby was doing exceptionally well apart from a few bug bites.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the newborn baby only survived her ordeal “by the grace of God.”
The baby, who authorities estimate was born just an hour before she was left behind, was left for dead near a trailer park in Mulberry, Fla
“I named her Angel Grace LNU. She’s as beautiful as an angel,’ he said.
“By the grace of God, she is not dead. And LNU’s last name is unknown.”
After Magdalena and her daughter Eulia found the baby near their backyard, the sheriff’s office called in a K-9 unit, a drone and a bloodhound to search for the mother.
Though they’ve been unsuccessful so far, the sheriff said she’s likely to face child neglect charges once she’s identified.
He said: “We will hold her accountable for allegedly leaving that child in the forest to die.
“We have already collected the appropriate DNA samples and will be with the DNA samples at the FDLE lab in Tampa first thing tomorrow morning.”
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the child’s mother is urged to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-293-6200.
Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez and her 12-year-old daughter, pictured, discovered the baby after hearing what they initially thought was a cat crying
The child was found by Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez and her daughter Eulia around 2 a.m. Saturday near their backyard
The sheriff also stressed that Florida has a “safe haven” law that ensures babies up to a week old can be lawfully transferred to any hospital, fire department or emergency medical facility.
“You can literally walk, hand the baby over to a firefighter and drive off and never reveal who you are,” he said.
“It’s not punishable.”
This comes after another newborn was left in Florida’s only “Safe Haven” box earlier this month — the first time it has been used since it was installed in November 2020.
The box, built into the wall of an Ocala fire station, is one of 134 safe-haven boxes across the US that allow a parent to anonymously hand over unwanted babies.
Although all states in the US have “safe haven” laws that allow parents to legally give up their babies, nine states have also adopted baby boxes – Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania
They have been used 23 times since the first one was launched in November 2017.