Hour-old newborn found abandoned in woods
Mulberry — An abandoned newborn baby was found in the woods near a Mulberry mobile home park by Polk County Sheriff's deputies on Saturday morning.
Polk County Sheriff's Office received a call early Saturday morning from a woman saying she heard a baby crying somewhere nearby. At approximately 1:47 a.m. deputies searched the area and discovered a baby girl wrapped in a blanket and left on a small hill near Regal Loop Mobile Home Park off Bailey Road. The infant was still attached to the placenta.
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Polk County EMS workers estimated the girl was born approximately an hour earlier, based on the infant's body temperature. The overnight temperature was in Mulberry that evening was the lower 50s.
The infant was transported to Lakeland Regional Hospital, according to PCSO spokesperson Brian Bruchey. The child was found to have sustained insect bites and was turned over to the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
The woman who reported the baby's cries told deputies she heard loud, almost animalistic screams earlier in the evening, Bruchey said, but didn't think much of it as the screams stopped. When the woman later heard what sounded like a baby's cries, she and her husband attempted to search for the child.
Polk deputies undertook an extensive search in hopes of finding the child's mother. Deputies went door-to-door in the mobile home park, brought in a bloodhound, K-9 unit, drone and aviation unit. As of Monday morning, deputies have not found any additional information leading to the infant's mother.
"It was by the grace of God that we found the abandoned baby girl when we did, before exposure to the cold or any animals caused her any harm," Grady Judd said in a press statement. "She was left in an extremely vulnerable condition, but she's a strong little girl, and it looks like she's doing great."
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Florida's Safe Haven Law, enacted in 2000, allows for individuals to turn over an unharmed newborn under seven days old at any hospital or staffed fire station without any questions being asked or fear of prosecution.
Nick Silverio, founded of a Florida-based nonprofit A Safe Haven for Newborns, said that the act of abandoning babies has grown increasingly rare since the passage of the state statue.
"This doesn't happen very often," he said. " It used to not be rare, but it is now."
Since 2000, there has been 360 newborns given up at a safe-haven sites in Florida, according to Silverio. There have not been any reports of an abandoned infant statewide since 2020.
Silverio said his organizations offered a pamphlet that hospitals and fire stations are encouraged to give women that lists his organization's hotline, 1-877-767-2229, and lists other resources that can provide much-needed support. Under state law, a mother who has turned in their child has up to 30 days to request custody back, according to Silverio.
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"We receive calls from girls as young as 13 and women as old as 41," he said. "With no resources, no support, no family, nowhere to go, they panic."
Silverio said his organization worked with a 25-year-old woman who had postpartum depression to temporarily placed her infant son with a foster family while she received intensive counseling. The family was later reunited. More information on the nonprofit can be found at www.asafehavenfornewborns.com.
"It's all about awareness, creating more awareness is key," he said.
Polk County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with any information about the mother of the baby to call 863-298-6200.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFL.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Hour-old newborn found abandoned in woods
