A newborn baby miraculously survived being put in a plastic bag and left on the side of a road in Indiana just hours after birth. Local police are still looking for her birth mother.
While walking their dog in Seymour, Indiana, a Good Samaritan stumbled upon the infant around 4:00 P.M. on October 15. The Samaritan immediately notified the authorities. The baby has been described as Hispanic and was also wrapped in a towel, according to WLKY.
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The baby girl was transferred to a local hospital where she was determined to be stable and in good health. Seymour police Seargeant C.J. Foster told reporters that he visited the newborn in the hospital the following day and confirmed that she is still doing well.
Jessie Miligan was later identified as the son of the dog walker who discovered the child. He admitted that what he experienced that Tuesday afternoon “is something that I never thought I would see in my life.” He described the whole thing as “hard to believe.”
He told WRTV, “There is a little bag over there. I see a little foot pop out. I pick it up, I untie it and there is a little blanket covering its face. So I pull it up and I am holding this little baby in a plastic bag, just back there. I don’t know. I try not to judge, but there are way better ways of handling not being able to take care of a baby.”
Seymour police told ABC News that the child was laying along a fence, which was roughly 20 yards off the road. Now, authorities want this baby girl’s story to help others learn about Safe Haven laws across the United States.
Each state, including the District of Columbia, has its own version of a Safe Haven law. The law allows parents who feel that they are unable to care for a baby the opportunity to hand the child over to trained workers (usually hospital staff or fire departments) with no questions asked.
Local hospitals and fire stations are the most common designated places parents can take their newborns. However, other states also allow people to seek out an EMS provider, a police department, birthing center, or welfare agency. As Baby Safe Haven reports, many states give parents three days to make the decision, but some states give as many as 90 days.
In a statement, the Seymour Police said, “The Seymour Fire Department currently has a Safe Haven Baby Box at Seymour Fire Station 3. Safe Haven Baby Boxes installed at fire stations allow an individual to surrender a newborn baby in a box that opens from the station’s exterior wall. If a mother opens the door to surrender the child inside the box, a 911 call goes out and an alarm is sounded. When the door shuts, the child is locked on the inside of the box, and only fire and medical personnel on the inside can retrieve the child.”
Anyone looking for more information into their respective state’s Safe Haven laws can call this confidential toll free hotline at 1-800-510-BABY.
Police told WRTV that they have someone they believe could be in connection to the investigation, but no other updates have been made.
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