A dead newborn baby girl was found in a baby drop-off box in Idaho on Oct. 13, police said this week.
The infant was removed from the box at the Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot “within a minute” after a medical team responded to an alarm notifying them that a baby had been placed there.
Upon removal, they realized the infant had been dead long before being placed in the baby box, according to a news release on Monday from Safe Haven Baby Boxes on Facebook.
Idaho law allows unharmed and healthy infants to be surrendered to the baby boxes. Because this infant was already dead before being placed in the box, she was not a legal surrender.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes provide a secure and anonymous way for parents to safely surrender their newborns. But anonymity is only allowed when an infant is surrendered completely unharmed, said Safe Haven Baby Boxes Founder Monica Kelsey.
“We are heartbroken,” she said. “Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and providing all information we possess to local authorities. When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.”
The parent’s identity is now known to police, according to a video update Kelsey posted to Facebook on Thursday.
“It is not because there’s cameras on these boxes, there is no cameras on these boxes,” she said. “It was either old fashioned police work or she stepped forward.”
The Twin Falls and Blackfoot police departments are both investigating.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and community affected by this loss. The health and safety of our community’s children remain our top priority,” the Twin Falls Police Department stated in a Monday press release.
52 infants have been legally surrendered at Safe Haven Baby Boxes since 2017, the organization said. Each infant has been adopted, the organization says.
There is only one Safe Haven Baby Box in Idaho.