Abandoned Newborn Girl Discovered in Box Left in Gutter

A newborn girl was found abandoned in a residential San Clemente neighborhood Wednesday by a man who walked outside his house to pick up the morning paper and spotted the infant in a cardboard box in a gutter.

Nurses at Samaritan Medical Center in San Clemente named the baby Noel in honor of the holiday season. The child, which had been wrapped in two blue acrylic blankets, was in good condition and being treated for hypothermia. She is white, has dark hair and dark eyes, is 19 inches long and weighs 5 pounds, 10 ounces.

“She was cold and she was hungry,” said Vicki Sweet, the hospital’s director of emergency services. “As we warmed her up and gave her fluids, she started to fuss a little bit.”

The discovery marks the fourth time this year--and the third within the past two months--that a newborn has been found abandoned in Orange County.

The baby will remain at the hospital for three days and then be transferred to Orangewood Children’s Home for abandoned or neglected youngsters, authorities said.

Police so far have no leads. A neighbor reported seeing a blue sedan driving rather slow down the street about 15 minutes before the discovery. Police, however, said that it is common for motorists to go slow in the area, the 100 block of Avenida Dolores.