Baby Found Abandoned An Hour After Birth With Umbilical Cord Still Attached

A newborn baby girl was found abandoned on a hill outside a trailer park in Florida. The authorities believe they found the infant about an hour after her birth.

Polk County deputies received a call Saturday morning about a crying baby near Mulberry, east of Tampa. The deputies arrived at around 1:47 a.m., and found the child on a small hill near the Regal Loop Mobile Home Park, according to the Associated Press.

The infant was wrapped in a blanket, with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached to her.

Medics estimated the newborn baby was abandoned an hour before deputies found her based on her body temperature.

"It was by the Grace of God that we found the abandoned baby girl when we did, before exposure to the cold or any animals caused her any harm," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. "She was left in an extremely vulnerable condition, but she's a strong little girl, and it looks like she's doing great."

Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez was reportedly the woman who heard the baby's cries and found the six-and-a-half-pound infant lying on the ground in a bush.

"I was really surprised that they left a poor little girl on the [ground]," her daughter, 12-year-old Eulalia Gregorio, told ABC Action News.

Officials tried to locate the baby's mother and went door-to-door as part of the search for her. The search also included a K-9 unit, Aviation unit, drone and bloodhound, but the mother was not found.

"We have worked throughout the community, and no one claims to know who the mother is," the sheriff was quoted saying. "So far, no one has cooperated — if they knew anything."

The child's mother will likely be charged with child neglect when she is identified and located.

"We will hold her accountable because she left this child abandoned in the woods, ostensibly, to die," Judd said.

He noted the child had a few bug bites, but was otherwise doing well.

"I have named her Angel Grace LNU. She's as beautiful as an angel. It is by the grace of God that she is not dead. And LNU is Last Name Unknown," he said.

The officials also reminded people about Florida's Safe Haven Law, which allows parents to leave unharmed newborn babies at designated Safe Haven facilities, such as a hospital, fire station or EMS station that has a full-time staff.

Parents can surrender the babies without fear of prosecution, and the infants must be under a week old.

"You can literally walk up, hand that baby to a firefighter, and drive off, and never disclose who you are, and there's no criminal liability to that," Judd explained.