Florida authorities are investigating the case of an abandoned newborn baby girl. They are searching for her family but have come up short at this time.
On January 28, 2023, at around 2 a.m., the 6½ lb. bundle of joy was found in the woods near the Regal Loop Mobile Home Park in Mulberry, Florida, by neighbors. It was a cold evening in the 50s, so this story could have had a very different and sad ending. Thankfully, the abandoned baby survived.
Grady Judd, the Polk County sheriff, spoke about this incident in a press conference. "It's an event that we don't see very often because there are safe haven laws," he said, per People. In Florida, babies up to 1 week old can be surrendered to the state without repercussions.
Judd could not help but feel for this baby girl. He named her Angel Grace Lnu. "She's as beautiful as an angel. It's by the grace of God she is not dead, and Lnu is: Last Name Unknown," he explained.
The baby was found wrapped in an old blanket. She was only around an hour and a half old when neighbors discovered her. At first, her rescuers thought her cries were that of a feral cat.
"A lady thought she heard some cats screaming and fighting at about midnight going into Saturday morning, and then it quieted down," Judd continued. "Then, at about an hour and a half later, she heard this screaming and crying again, and she went outside and said, 'Well, that's a baby.'"
The baby was discovered by Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez. Judd believes she and her family are the "true heroes" of this story.
"I was really surprised that they left a poor little girl on the [ground]," said 12-year-old Eulalia Gregorio, daughter of Magdalena.
When Ordonez and her husband found the baby, the umbilical cord and placenta were still attached. The baby was healthy but had some insect bites because she'd been in the woods. It is very fortunate they found her before anything bad could happen.
The search for the baby girl’s family continues. "We believe she is of Hispanic descent, and we need to know who the parents are," Judd explained. "We have worked throughout the community, and no one claims to know who the mother is. From experience, usually it's a younger person who does not want the child or has somehow hidden the presence of the child from their parents, and now they've abandoned this child in the woods all alone."
The mother will face charges if found. "She is not required to take the child if she doesn't want the child. We will hold her accountable because she left this child abandoned in the woods, ostensibly, to die,” Judd said.
Judd reminded reporters that what matters most is the baby is safe and now has a bright future ahead of her. "All the pieces came together for that child to end up alive, healthy and well, and I look forward to that time that child is in college, and who knows … maybe that's the little girl who finds the cure to all these horrible diseases in some lab in the future," he mused.
