Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso is looking for the person who left a newborn in the grass near Lake Charles Memorial Hospital Gauthier Campus in Lake Charles.
The Sheriff says the unknown woman would have been pregnant yesterday, and not today. The person who left the child will face child abandonment, among other charges. He’s urging the woman to turn herself in. Deputies are reviewing video surveillance and have a vehicle description. The baby is only described as an African-American girl.
The Sheriff also wanted to send a reminder about the Safe Haven law, which requires the person to drop off the baby in the care of someone at one of the approved sites, such as a fire station or hospital. The person only needed to walk an additional 50 yards to hand the child to someone who could help.
They estimate the child was left outside for 15 minutes when she was discovered; she was completely naked and left in the grass. A woman walking out the hospital heard the infant cry and called deputies. The sheriff believes the person who left the child had the best intentions but didn’t follow the necessary steps to legally abandon the child.
The newborn remains at the hospital for health assessments. Deputies say she is doing well.
The child will be placed into the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services upon his release from the hospital.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office at 491-3605.
