The Riverside Police Department is asking for the mother of the baby abandoned next to a dumpster on Sunday to come forward.
The boy was found “crying in a dumpster enclosure at an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Jackson Street,” and investigators believe he’d been born only hours earlier.
“When officers arrived, they found a newborn baby boy lying next to a dumpster, breathing, crying, and with the umbilical cord still attached,” police said in a news release. “Paramedics provided immediate care and transported him across the street to a local hospital, where he is currently in good health and stable condition.”
Investigators are looking for the child’s mother and/or whoever put him near the dumpster, and they’re asking anyone with knowledge of a woman who was recently pregnant but is now without a newborn to reach out to them.
“Our primary concern is locating the mother to ensure her own health and safety, and getting her any medical care or support she may need,” they said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Jessica Iniguez at 951-353-7121 or [email protected].
Authorities also offered a reminder to others who may be in a similar situation: The Safely Surrendered Baby Law allows parents or legal guardians to surrender a baby with no questions asked.
In Riverside County, newborns can be taken to nearly all fire stations and hospitals.
To find a Safe Surrender site or for more information, call 1-877-BABYSAF (222-9723) or visit 211la.org/safely-surrender-baby.
