'It Was By The Grace Of God That We Found The Abandoned Baby Girl When We Did:' Sheriff

MULBERRY, FL — Polk County sheriff's deputies found an abandoned newborn baby girl Saturday near the Regal Loop Mobile Home Park just off Bailey Road in Mulberry.

Deputies investigated after someone reported hearing a baby crying outside and discovered the newborn with the placenta still attached at 1:47 a.m. wrapped in a blanket on a small hill near the mobile home park.

Polk County Fire Rescue medics estimate that the baby had been born about an hour before she was found based on the newborn's body temperature.

In the Mulberry area overnight, the temperature was in the lower 50s.

Medics took the baby to the hospital where she is reported to be healthy and in stable condition.

Deputies are now attempting to find the mother of the infant. A K-9 unit, drone, aviation unit and bloodhound were used to search the area. Deputies also went door to door but have so far been unable to find the mother.

"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," Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said. "She was left in an extremely vulnerable condition, but she's a strong little girl, and it looks like she's doing great."

Judd noted that Florida's Safe Haven Law, enacted in 2000, allows parents to leave their unharmed newborn child (under a week old) at any safe haven facility (hospitals or properly staffed fire stations) anonymously without fear of prosecution.

Anyone who has any information about the mother of the baby is asked to call the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 863-298-6200.