RIVER ROUGE – A caregiver at an adult foster home made a remarkable discovery Sunday morning.
A newborn baby girl was left abandoned near bushes on the front lawn of the home on Alexander Street in River Rouge. The caregiver said she heard the faint crying early Sunday morning and first thought it was a cat.
"Shocking to see a baby outside," she said. "I keep hearing it, came back outside and saw the baby, then ran and picked it up."
River Rouge police said the infant was less than an hour old when it was found with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached.
"I just remember trying to cover it up," the caregiver said. She did not want to be named in this story.
"The bag was still on it ... blood on the baby and me," she said.
This photo shows the caregiver holding the baby:
Michigan has safe haven laws
Michigan has safe haven laws which allow parents 72 hours to drop off a newborn at a designated emergency location. The adult foster home is less than a mile from the police station.
"Lots of people would want to adopt a baby," said David Robinson, whose home security camera captured the emergency response. "Drop it off at a hospital, police station so the baby can survive."
READ: What happens when an infant is abandoned?
Robinson's home security system captured emergency responders moments after the baby was found. He said he was relieved to see how fast the response was.
"It was 80 degrees and that baby could have died," he said.
The baby girl was taken to Oakwood Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn. She is in good condition and is expected to be OK.
Police first reported the surveillance video might show the mother. However, they later said the person shown on the video is known in the neighborhood and is not the mother.
Police search for mother
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.
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