Florida couple adopts baby who was abandoned in the woods with the placenta still attached just one hour after she was born
A Florida baby who was abandoned in the woods an hour after her birth was adopted by a couple yesterday, officials confirmed.
The newborn girl was found by neighbors in January with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached to her body in bushes outside a caravan park in Mulberry.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a Florida couple, who did not want to be identified, adopted the child yesterday.
Officials announced the “exciting update” on Facebook, saying that despite extensive efforts by investigators, the girl's parents have never been located or identified.
The newborn, who weighed 6.5 pounds at birth, was found by officers just before 2 a.m. and immediately taken to a hospital.
Doctors told authorities she was healthy and had only a few insect bites.
A Florida baby who was abandoned in the woods an hour after his birth was adopted by an unknown couple yesterday
Despite 'Safe Haven' laws allowing parents to legally hand over their newborn babies, the child was instead left in deep bushes and bushes outside a caravan park. In the photo: the location where residents found the crying newborn girl
In the Facebook post, authorities noted that morning temperatures that day were in the 50s.
The Bureau wrote: “We have an exciting update to share with you.
“Nearly a year ago, on January 28, around 1:47 a.m., PCSO officers rescued an abandoned newborn baby girl in Mulberry. The girl was wrapped in a blanket, still attached to the placenta.
“The temperature outside was in the low 50s and members of Polk County Fire Rescue checked on the girl and determined that based on the girl's temperature she was born approximately an hour before she was found.
“Despite extensive efforts by PCSO detectives, the girl's mother has never been located or identified.
“Fast forward ten months and one day: the girl is officially adopted.
“We are excited to share with you these photos from this morning of this precious angel with her new mom and dad, along with PCSO's Detective Green and Sgt. Ryan.
“Mom and Dad wanted to keep their names from being published, but they allowed us to share these photos with everyone who followed this child's story and prayed for her well-being.”
“We are excited to share with you these photos from this morning of this precious angel with her new mom and dad, along with PCSO's Detective Green and Sgt. Ryan,” the Facebook post said
The newborn was found around 2 a.m. Saturday morning near a trailer park in Mulberry, Florida
The baby was found by 12-year-old Eulia Gregorio and her mother Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez.
After the mother-daughter duo made an emergency call to the sheriff's office, officers immediately arrived on scene.
Once the baby was safe, officials called in a K-9 unit, a drone and a bloodhound in their search for the mother, but to no avail.
When the baby was found, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “We have worked throughout the community and no one claims to know who the mother is.
Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez and her 12-year-old daughter, pictured, discovered the baby after hearing crying, which they initially thought came from a cat
12-year-old Eulia Gregorio, one of the residents who found the child, said she was “really surprised” that the baby's mother had abandoned her
“It was by the grace of God that we found the abandoned baby girl when we did, before exposure to the cold or other animals did her any harm.
'She was left in an extremely vulnerable state, but she is a strong girl and seems to be doing well.
“I named her Angel Grace LNU. She is as beautiful as an angel.
'It is by the grace of God that she is not dead. And LNU's last name is unknown.'
The baby's actual name, given to her by her new parents, has not been released.
Although they have so far been unable to identify the baby's biological mother, the sheriff said she will likely be charged with child neglect once she is identified.
He said, “We will hold her accountable for apparently leaving this child abandoned in the woods to die.”
After the baby was adopted, the office thanked the community for keeping the child's well-being in mind.