Newborn baby found abandoned in River Rouge; police search for mother

RIVER ROUGE, Mich. – Police are searching for the mother of a newborn baby who was found abandoned Sunday morning in River Rouge. 

The baby girl was found about 8:30 a.m. Sunday on Alexander Street near East Great Lakes Street. Someone who lives in the neighborhood found the baby on the front lawn of an adult foster home and called police. The baby was wrapped in a blanket near bushes on the front lawn. 

"Neighbors and residents at the home heard what they thought was an animal, a cat, crying. They went out to investigate, did not hear anything at first, continued to hear the cries, went outside a second time and discovered the child," said Det. Sgt. Dasumo Mitchell, of River Rouge police. 

The adult foster home is less than a mile from the police station. Police thought surveillance video from a nearby home might show the mother. However, police later said the person shown on video has been identified as someone known in the neighborhood. 

The woman who first found the baby said something told her she should keep looking for the source of the sound. 

"I remember going out looking, thinking, 'What is that noise?' I thought it was a cat or something on the porch -- I'm hearing something. Something told me to go out farther. That's when I saw it was a baby and I just ran and picked it up," said the woman who found the baby. 

River Rouge police said the baby was no more than an hour old when she was found. The umbilical cord was still attached. The baby was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn and is in good condition. She is starting to eat. 

River Rouge police are asking for help identifying and locating the mother. Police believe the woman lives in the neighborhood and that she may know someone at the foster home. 

READ: What happens when an infant is abandoned?

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