MULBERRY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said it found a newborn baby left on a small hill in Mulberry early Saturday morning.
Deputies said they found the baby at around 1:47 a.m. near the Regal Loop Mobile Home Park, just off of Bailey Road, after someone said they heard a baby crying outside. At the time, the temperature was in the low 50s.
“She’s got a great set of lungs,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “As she was screaming out for help, she saved her own life as well.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the baby, named Angel Grace by Judd, was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta attached to her body.
Medics with Polk County Fire Rescue said they believed that the girl was born about an hour before deputies found her, based on her body temperature.
Rescue personnel took the newborn to a local hospital, where she is said to be in good health, aside from some insect bites.
The sheriff’s office said it deployed its K-9 unit, aviation unit, a drone, and a bloodhound to find the child’s mother, but they have yet to locate her, as of this report.
“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,” Judd said. “She was left in an extremely vulnerable condition, but she’s a strong little girl, and it looks like she’s doing great.”
Mothers in Florida have protections to give up their newborn children safely without fear of prosecution, thanks to the Saven Haven Law of 2000. Parents can leave an unharmed baby at any Safe Haven, typically hospitals or a properly staffed EMS or fire station.
If anyone knows where the child’s mother is, call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.