Parenting

Woman Walking Dog Discovers Hours-Old Newborn In Plastic Bag After 'A Little Foot Pops Out'

ParentingPublished Oct 17, 2019
By Genny Glassman
Angela ButlerWTHR

Police in Seymour, Indiana, are searching for the parents of a newborn baby who was left in a plastic bag just hours after her birth. The infant was discovered by a woman out walking her dog on Tuesday when she noticed the abandoned infant lying by a grass-covered lot and alerted authorities. Investigators have yet to track down the baby's parents or guardian, but have said that she appears to be in good condition.

The girl was discovered around 4 p.m. Tuesday, when Seymour resident Angela Butler spotted the plastic bag beside a roadway.

The Daily Mail reports that the child was left on the ground, along a fence. Butler told WTHR that her dog OJ is really the one who deserves all the credit.  

"He was just sniffing around until we came up on the bag and it caught his eye and he just stared at it for the longest time," she said.

"The dog owner discovered some movement inside the bag and picked the bag up and discovered there was a child left inside,"  Seymour Police Det. Sgt. C.J. Foster explained.

Butler said she went to wake up her stepson, Jesse Milligan, before calling 911.

"We run across the street and sure enough, there's a little bag over there," Milligan told WTHR. "I see a little foot pop out. I pick it up, untie it and there's a little blanket covering [the baby's] face."

Milligan said he scooped up the girl and held her in his arms until emergency responders arrived. 

"It was crying before we picked her up and after we picked her up, she quit crying immediately," Butler said. 

The girl was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where a later update from WTHR noted that she seems to be doing just fine.

Seymour Fire Chief Brad Lucas said that he was frustrated the girl's parents had not left her at one of the state's many Safe Haven baby boxes.

In fact, the baby was found less than a mile from one of the many Safe Haven locations across Indiana. The boxes are specifically designed for parents to safely leave unwanted babies -- no questions asked -- so they may be safely taken into protective custody. But the lack of public awareness about the boxes continues to trouble authorities investigating cases like these.

"What do I have to do?" Lucas implored. "Who do I have to call? Who do I have to brainstorm with to get the awareness out there to people who need to know that?"

Right now, the Seymour Police Department is focused on finding the girl's parent (or parents), who may face criminal charges.

"Obviously, the concern is trying to find the mother, find out what happened, what are the circumstances of why everything happened and make sure her health is OK," Lucas said.

As for Butler, she's still heartbroken over the shocking discovery.

"It's sad knowing that the mother just dumped it off like it was a piece of trash," she told WTHR, adding that the "image of that little baby's foot pressing against the Walmart bag," will certainly stay with her.

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