Newborn baby found abandoned on Orange County apartment porch

Baby taken to hospital, in good condition, deputies say

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County deputies are investigating after a newborn baby was found abandoned on the back porch of an apartment Friday morning.

The investigation was underway at the Buena Vista Point Apartments, where the boy was discovered at 8:40 a.m. Friday.

Deputies said a man coming home from working the overnight shift at a local hotel found a baby wrapped in a brown blanket on his back porch. He told deputies her heard a crying noise.

The Sheriff's Office said his umbilical cord was still attached.

"There's another entrance to that apartment. He could have easily walked past it, gone into a different entrance and that child could have been left in this heat," Jane Watrel, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said.

The boy was taken to Winnie Palmer Hospital and is in good condition, deputies said.

Hospital officials determined that the baby was only hours old.

"This is the child's birthday today and it's quite a way to come into this world," Watrel said.

Deputies went door-to-door talking to neighbors, trying to get any information on who left the baby behind.

"We want anyone that may have seen or heard something to help us," Watrel said.

People who live at the complex said they heard sirens and saw police activity, but no one saw who left the baby.

"I actually feel bad for the baby. What did he do or she do to deserve this?" Glenn Douyard said.

"The great thing is that the child was found and the child can now get services the child needs," Anthony Mare said.

Detectives are also calling on the parents of the baby to come forward. Watrel said at this point in the investigation there are no talks of charges.

"We just want to find out what happened and talk to the parents of this healthy newborn boy," she said.

The Florida Department of Children and Families has been notified. DCF told News 6 it has not found any caregivers for the baby yet. The department is working with law enforcement and will be sheltering the baby until it finds any caregivers or the baby's parents. If the department doesn't find anyone, the baby will go into the adoption process.


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