PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Department of Children and Families has launched an investigation after a newborn baby girl was found alive in a dumpster in suburban Boca Raton on Wednesday.
A DCF spokesperson said the child is safe in the department's care.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, two people were walking in an apartment complex near Boca Entrada Blvd. around 9 a.m. Wednesday, and heard what sounded like a baby crying.
That's when they found a newborn baby girl alive in a dumpster.
PBSO said Thursday the baby is 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and is either African-American or Hispanic, and is doing well at only one day old.
A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said there's evidence the baby was just born Wednesday, and the umbilical cord was still attached.
CHOPPER 5 VIDEO OF DUMPSTER:
The child was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.
"It's disgusting that someone could do that to a newborn," said Krystal Malta, a neighbor who just gave birth to her own baby girl one month ago. "It kind of hit home."
Detectives with PBSO's Special Investigations Division were seen going door-to-door at the apartment complex Wednesday afternoon, asking neighbors if they knew anything about the incident.
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"I cried, it was really sad," said Malta. "I don't know how anyone could do that to their own kid. I don't know how anyone could have that in them."
One neighbor told WPTV a maintenance worker found the baby girl in the dumpster.
If you know who abandoned the baby, call Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-TIPS.
WPTV REPORT FROM SCENE:
All Palm Beach County Fire Rescue staffed stations are a "Safe Haven" for newborn locations.
A newborn child, from birth to seven days old, can be turned over anonymously to fire rescue personnel at any Palm Beach County Fire Rescue stations.
Fire Rescue will transport the child to the nearest hospital for medical care. Since the program’s inception in 2000, 18 newborns have been turned over in Palm Beach County.
For more information about the "Safe Haven" program, CLICK HERE.
