Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs are seeking a woman who left a newborn in a field just outside of the Lake Charles Memorial Hospital Gauthier Campus building last night at 8pm. Sherriff Tony Mancuso says surveillance footage shows a woman depositing the child outside of the facility without alerting any of the employees there.
“We have determined that the baby was out there for about 15 minutes, which is good because had it too long the baby would have gotten hypothermia and we may have been dealing with a homicide.”
The baby is African-American, and is in good health.
Mancuso stressed that any mother who has just had a child and is considering abandoning it can leave the new born at any local police station, fire department, or hospital, and will not be asked any questions, and will not face any charges. But, you must make contact with an employee first.
“Hand them over to an employee, you can’t just go drop them off like they did last night in a grassy area. Sometimes when you think you’ve seen it all, something like this happens.”
The “Safe Haven Law” applies up to sixty days after birth.
Mancuso says the mother likely had good intentions with the decision, and they understand how heartbreaking the decision must have been, but you cannot leave your newborn alone and exposed when abandoning it.
“Had this person done it the proper way, I can promise you they would not have been facing any criminal charges. Now they are looking at child abandonment and possible other criminal charges.”
