1-Day-Old Baby Found Alive In Trash Bag Outside Las Vegas Apartment With Umbilical Cord Attached

The Las Vegas police are actively searching for the mother of a newborn after the infant was found abandoned in a trash bag outside an apartment complex in the city.

On Sunday afternoon, a family residing in the complex heard a baby's cries and found the 1-day-old girl inside the bag in the bushes. The umbilical cord was still attached to the baby when she was found.

The family brought the baby home and informed the police. Officers arrived at the scene and took the baby to a hospital where she was listed in a stable condition, ABC-affiliated television station KTNV reported.

In a press conference held Tuesday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Ray Spencer said the baby had minor injuries and was expected to survive.

"The child is an African-American baby girl, and was born within the 24 hours leading up to being discovered," Spencer said.

He added that a search was underway for the baby’s mother.

"This has been a very long, stressful year for all of us and many have reached their breaking point. I tell you this because we are not here to judge this mother. We are here to find her and check on her well-being," he said.

Reminding people about Nevada’s Safe Haven law, which allows a parent to drop an infant up to 30 days old at any medical facility or fire station or police department, Spencer said, "There are no repercussions. I’m pleading with you to please stress this law to anybody out there so this does not have to happen again."

The abandoned baby will be taken into custody by the Child Protective Services once she is discharged from the hospital.

The incident comes months after a newborn baby was found abandoned inside a plastic bag near a house in North Carolina. The family who lived at the property heard a baby’s cries and informed the local authorities who arrived at the scene and found the infant alive inside the bag, with the placenta still attached. The baby was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and was in stable condition at the time.