Abandoned Newborn in Stable Condition

Police continued searching Monday for the mother of a newborn baby girl apparently abandoned inside an apartment complex parking lot Sunday afternoon.

The infant was only 1 to 2 hours old when two passersby heard her cries and found her bundled in a plastic garbage bag in the bed of a pickup truck Sunday about 2:15 p.m.

Paramedics who arrived at the Village Apartments in the 500 block of East Carter Street said the 7-pound, 13-ounce infant, who has black hair and olive skin, was suffering from hypothermia, a life-threatening condition caused by exposure to cold air.

According to doctors at Anaheim Memorial Hospital, where “Baby Jane Doe” remained in stable condition Monday, the plastic bag probably kept the child alive.

“A plastic bag is better than having her totally exposed to the elements,” said Tracy Ballen, a hospital spokeswoman.

Ballen added that the infant, nicknamed “Honey” by hospital personnel, was not in danger of suffocating because her head was left exposed.

“She is the cutest little thing,” Ballen said. “People here want to adopt her.”

According to Anaheim Police Lt. Ted Labahn, adoption may be in the infant’s future if relatives do not come forward soon.

“There is not a lot of hope in finding someone who knows her,” he said, because newborn babies have very few distinguishing traits that can link them to relatives. “Because she was found in the visitors’ parking area, there is a chance she may not even be from around here.

“It’s difficult. . . . How do you find the mother of a newborn?”