Police in Alaska say a newborn baby was dropped off with a note last week when the temperature in Fairbanks had dropped to around 1 degree at the time.
KTOO reports that the infant was found by local resident, Roxy Lane, near a row of mailboxes on Friday afternoon. Alaska State Troopers said the baby, identified as “Treshawn” through a note left behind, was at the corner of an intersection of Dolphin Way and Chena Point Avenue, placed in a cardboard box with a note attached.
“Please help me!!!” the note read. “My parents and grandparents don’t have food or money to raise me. They NEVER wanted to do this to me…Please take me and find me a LOVING FAMILY. My parents are begging whoever finds me. My name is Teshawn.”
Lane told police that the baby was cooing while swaddled in blankets and appeared to be OK. Troopers took the baby to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital to be certain, where he reportedly received a clean bill of health.
“I was born 12 weeks premature. My mom was 28 weeks when she had me,” the note continued. “My parents lived on Cormorant Street. My mom is so sad to do this.”
Lane indicated that based on the note left behind, it’s likely that the baby’s mother didn’t have the means to provide for him and the family may not have had the means to get medical care for the mother.
“Please, someone knows this new mom, check on her! She might be in a desperate situation, feeling abandoned herself. We don’t know, there could be a whole backstory here behind closed doors,” Lane wrote on Facebook.
“Clearly, someone in our community felt so lost and hopeless that they made probably the hardest choice of their lives to leave that innocent life on the side of the road with nothing but some blankets and a name…But she named him! There’s some love there, even if she made a terrible decision.”
In 2008, Alaska enacted safe haven laws to ensure parents didn’t face prosecution for leaving unwanted babies in unsafe areas. Under the Safe Surrender for Infants Act, a baby less than 21 days old can be taken to an emergency medical services provider (ex: fires fighters or peace officers) or medically trained people (doctors, nurses) and safely surrendered.
However, that law doesn’t apply if there is a current “court order regarding the custody of the child.” So far, details surrounding the baby’s parents and any possible custody issues are unknown.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
