Hours-old baby girl abandoned on porch with umbilical cord attached, police searching for mom
"Mom, if you’re reading this, call us," the police department said.
Police are looking for the mother of an "adorable" hours-old newborn girl who they say was abandoned on a Pennsylvania porch.
The baby girl, still with the umbilical cord attached, was found wrapped in a blanket outside a home on Tuesday in Upper Darby, just outside of Philadelphia, authorities said.
"Thank God the baby is OK. But to put a [roughly] 6-hour-old child on a porch wrapped in a blanket is insane, in my opinion. It was 93 degrees yesterday," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood told ABC News.
The baby girl is now in satisfactory condition at a hospital, Chitwood said.
The person who lives in the house where the baby was left called police right away after finding the child, Chitwood said. That resident has been interviewed, he said.
So far police have no leads on the girl's parents.
"We want to find out who left the kid there and why, and then certainly if the mother needs help then we'll do whatever we can do to help her," Chitwood said. "Right now it's also a criminal case."
Chitwood also stressed that the local Safe Haven law, called The Newborn Protection Act, says a child under 28 days old can be left at a hospital, police station or fire station.
"As long as the baby is not harmed there is no criminal liability attached to it," Chitwood said.
As authorities search for the baby's mother, Chitwood said the department has received about 30 to 40 calls from people looking for information on how to adopt the little girl.
"Please only call with pertinent information that may identify the family of the child," the police department tweeted.
"Mom, if you’re reading this, call us," the police department said.
Tipsters can call 610-734-7693 or email socialmedia@udpd.org