Public's Help Sought To Find Mother Of Newborn Girl Found Buried Near Creek
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities asked for the public's help Wednesday in finding the mother of a newborn girl who was found buried alive near Compton Creek last week.
The baby is doing fine, but there is still no leads on the identity of the mother, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Mike Barazza said early Wednesday morning.
"We're asking the public's help to find her," he said.
Sheriff Jim McDonnell said the baby was found wrapped in a hospital-issue blanket in a hole filled with loose dirt, vegetation and two pieces of asphalt. The girl was cold to the touch and was taken to a hospital, where she remains stable and under observation.
Two women had heard the child crying as they passed by the area between 136th Street and Slater Avenue at about 4 p.m. Friday and called 911.
The sheriff said medical professionals have surmised the baby likely would not have survived the cold temperatures if she had been left there overnight.
Authorities are investigating all of the leads that are coming in about the baby, who may be Hispanic or black. The baby is believed to have been between 24 and 36 hours old at the time of the discovery, and is now believed to be about four or five days old.
Philip Browning, director of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, said the agency will be looking for a foster home for the girl.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe also called the girl's rescue "a miracle" and said it "could have been an absolute tragedy if it were not the quick-thinking actions of some concerned citizens and the incredible response of our sheriff's department."
He noted that 16 babies have been turned in since the beginning of the year in conjunction with the Safe Surrender program, in which a parent or legal guardian is allowed to turn over a newborn at designated sites such as fire and police stations or hospital emergency rooms.
Detectives from the sheriff's department's Special Victims Bureau asked anyone with information regarding the newborn to call them at (877) 710-5273.
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