A Florida baby abandoned in the woods an hour after she was born has been adopted by a couple yesterday, officials confirmed.
The newborn girl had been found with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached to her body in shrubs outside a trailer park in Mulberry by neighbors in January.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a Florida couple, who didn’t wish to be identified, adopted the child yesterday.
Officials announced the ‘exciting update’ on Facebook and said that despite extensive efforts by detectives, the girl’s parents were never located or identified.
The newborn baby, who weighed 6.5 pounds at birth, was found just before 2am by deputies and immediately taken to a hospital.
Doctors told authorities she was healthy and had only a few bug bites.
A Florida baby that was abandoned in the woods an hour after it was born was adopted by an unidentified couple yesterday
Despite ‘Safe Haven’ laws allowing parents to legally surrender their newborn babies, the child was instead left in deep shrubs and bushes outside a trailer park. Pictured: The location that the residents found the crying newborn girl
In the Facebook post, authorities noted that morning temperatures that day were in the 50s.
The Office wrote: ‘We have an exciting update to share with you.
‘Nearly one year ago, on January 28th, at about 1.47 in the morning, PCSO deputies rescued an abandoned newborn baby girl in Mulberry. The girl was wrapped in a blanket, still attached to the placenta.
‘The temperature outside was in the lower 50s, and members of Polk County Fire Rescue checked the girl out and determined that, based on the girl’s temperature, she had been born about an hour before she was found.
‘Despite an extensive effort by PCSO detectives, the girl’s mother has never been located or identified.
‘Fast forward ten months and one day, the baby girl has officially been adopted.
‘We are thrilled to share with you these photos from this morning of this precious angel with her new mom and dad, along with PCSO’s Detective Green and Sgt. Ryan.
‘Mom & Dad wish to keep their names from being published, but they allowed us to share these photos with everyone who followed this child’s story and prayed for her well-being.’
‘We are thrilled to share with you these photos from this morning of this precious angel with her new mom and dad, along with PCSO’s Detective Green and Sgt. Ryan,’ said the Facebook post
The newborn baby was found at around 2am on Saturday morning near a trailer park in Mulberry, Florida
The baby had been found by 12-year-old Eulia Gregorio and her mother Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez.
After the mother-daughter duo made an emergency call to the sheriff’s office, deputies immediately arrived at the scene.
Once the baby was safe, officials called upon a K-9 unit, a drone and a bloodhound in its search for the mother, but to no avail.
At the time the baby was found, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said: ‘We have worked throughout the community, and no one claims to know who the mother is.
Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez and her 12-year-old daughter, pictured, discovered the baby after they heard crying, which they initially believed to be from a cat
12-year-old Eulia Gregorio, one of the residents who found the child, said she was ‘really surprised’ the baby’s mother abandoned her
‘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.
‘She was left in an extremely vulnerable condition, but she’s a strong little girl, and it looks like she’s doing great.
‘I have named her Angel Grace LNU. She’s as beautiful as an angel.
‘It is by the grace of God that she is not dead. And LNU is Last Name Unknown.’
The baby’s actual name, given to her by her new parents, has not been released.
Although they have been unsuccessful in identifying the baby’s birth mother so far, the sheriff said she will likely be charged with child neglect once identified.
He said: ‘We will hold her accountable because she left this child abandoned in the woods, ostensibly, to die.’
After the baby was adopted, the office thanked the community for keeping the child’s well-being in their thoughts.