Abandoned Newborn Found in Shoebox by Residents of Florida Apartment Building

Justin Morgan
By Justin Morgan
November 24, 2019US News
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Abandoned Newborn Found in Shoebox by Residents of Florida Apartment Building
Baby feet. (Fé Ngô/Unsplash)

According to a report, an abandoned newborn baby was found laying in a shoebox on the doorsteps of an apartment building in Orlando, Florida.

The discarded baby boy was found at the door of Bella Vista Place Apartments resident Arielle Piner, at around 1 p.m. on Saturday. The child is believed to have been born on Friday, reported Fox News.

According to Click Orlando, Piner’s neighbor Sarah Nazario called authorities after noticing the baby laying across the hall crying when she opened up her door to see if a package she was waiting on had arrived.

Nazario found the child wrapped in a blanket inside a Converse shoebox.

“He was just a brand new, fresh baby,” she said. “I open my door, and I saw the baby. I saw him in a box. His little foot was sticking out of the box. I saw him wiggle his foot — it’s a real baby, he’s alive, I need to do something about it, so that’s when I called 911.”

In a Facebook post, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said they were dispatched to the building around 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“We want to remind everyone that Florida’s Safe Haven Law makes it possible for anyone to surrender an unwanted newborn to any hospital or fire station with no questions asked and without facing criminal charges,” said the post.

The child was later taken to the hospital and is said to be in good condition.

Piner says she has only lived in the building for about a month, and at first had no idea what had happened outside her apartment. She said she also found a note from the mother inside the shoebox.

“It hurt my heart. Why would you do that?” she said. “The letter was basically saying, like, ‘Please take care of this child. I couldn’t take care of it.’ God is going to handle that situation. God is going to handle that.”

The note also reportedly contained the first name of the child.

Newborn Baby
(Luma Pimentel/Unsplash)

One neighbor said they were “shocked” by what had happened. “I don’t really feel like it’s a random act. It’s too close to home,” they said.

“It’s still early in the investigation, but we will provide further information as it becomes available,” deputies said.

Florida’s Safe Haven Law states that anyone can bring an unwanted newborn baby to any hospital or fire station without facing criminal charges.

Authorities haven’t made any arrests.

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