Police were searching Wednesday
for the parents of a newborn baby girl who was left in front of a
suburban Phoenix home, her
umbilical cord still attached.
"At this
point, our detectives have kind of exhausted all of our initial possible
leads that we had," Mesa police spokesman Steve Berry said at a news
conference. "We have had no success in locating either Mom or Dad for
this child."
The
7-pound-8-ounce infant remained hospitalized, but doctors said she
appeared to be healthy. Police estimate she was hours old when she was
found, Berry said.
James and
Roseanne McCulloh said their son spotted a baby carrier on top of an
irrigation box Tuesday morning while he was standing on the front porch.
He then gently removed a metal panel that was on top of it.
"I
saw him jump 20 feet, and he said 'There's a baby in it,' " Roseanne
McCulloh said. "I ran over there. She wasn't blue. I touched her little
arm, and I opened up the blanket. She was just beautiful."
The
girl was wrapped in a blanket, but there was nothing else in the
carrier. The couple brought her inside and called 911. Roseanne McCulloh
warmed up a blanket in the microwave while her husband wiped the baby
down. Emergency responders showed up and transported the girl to the
hospital.
Mesa police are asking anyone who may have been in the area Tuesday morning to come forward, Berry said. Investigators want to speak with anyone who remembers seeing a woman or a vehicle or anything suspicious. As of Wednesday afternoon, police hadn't received any calls with possible new leads since holding the news conference.
Investigators
do not believe the mother gave birth at any hospital. Berry said no
medical facility would have let an infant leave with "a full umbilical
cord attached."
Arizona has a
Safe Haven Law that allows a person to leave a newborn at certain
locations such as fire stations, hospitals and churches without fear of
criminal prosecution. Police are wondering why the parents essentially
left the baby on the sidewalk when there is a fire station about half a
mile away, Berry said.
"Fortunately, the homeowner did happen to come out to the house and discovered the baby," he said.
The infant, who police are calling "Baby Jane," is described as either Hispanic or Native American with black hair.
If
nobody claims the baby, she will be put into the custody of the Arizona
Department of Child Safety and likely placed in a foster home.
Source: AP
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