Deliveryman Finds Newborn Outside Market

Newspaper deliveryman Peter Chavez was making his rounds early Sunday when he pulled into the empty parking lot at a small Lawndale grocery and noticed a bundle at the front door.

At first Chavez thought it was a small puppy wrapped in some old clothes because, he said, it “was moving and whimpering slightly.” But as he neared the Happy Market at 4701 W. Compton Blvd., his curiosity quickly turned to horror.

“I looked down and it was a baby. A real baby, lying there right on the cement, all alone without a blanket or anything,” recalled Chavez, who went to the neighborhood grocery about 7:30 a.m. to drop off a load of Sunday editions of The Times. “I was stunned and then angry. Who would abandon such a beautiful child?”

Less Than a Day Old Chavez called sheriff’s deputies, who said the newborn girl was less than a day old. The baby, described as a white infant, was dressed in a small, powder-blue jogging suit, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Charles Jackson. No identification or note accompanied the baby. Authorities are searching for the parents, but they admit they have few leads.

“My guess is whoever left the baby knew the market opened about 8 a.m. and figured somebody would find her quickly,” Jackson said. “It’s kind of a sad situation.”

The baby was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. Hospital officials said she was in good condition.

Jackson said the child will be placed in the custody of the county Department of Public Social Services, which will try to find a home for the infant. One eager candidate is Chavez, who is married with three grown children.

“If nobody wants that child, I’d really like to have her,” said Chavez, 54. “I feel kind of responsible now. It’s like being a father all over again.”