Georgia police searching for mother of newborn found alive wrapped in a plastic bag and abandoned in the woods
Law enforcement in Georgia are looking for the mother of a baby who was found wrapped in a plastic bag and left to die in a wooded area in Cumming, about 40 miles from Atlanta. Residents living in a nearby home heard a noise coming from a secluded wooded strip of land on Thursday night as they were unloading their car after a trip. They initially thought they were animal sounds, CNN reports.
Speaking to WSB, one of the residents, Kayla Ragatz, said, "(We) grabbed our flashlights and we're driving around and we're, like, 'That doesn't sound like an animal.'"
The group then followed the sound into the woods and eventually reached a pile of leaves and sticks where the baby lay wrapped in a plastic bag.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Sheriff Ron H. Freeman said: "You don't anticipate hearing a baby in the woods. Thank God they went out and investigated."
Freeman said dispatch received a call reporting a baby girl believed to be just hours-old found in a plastic bag. Police officers and hospital staff involved in the infant's rescue felt "like she is one of theirs" and so decided to give her a name. And so instead of Baby Jane Doe, the local Forsyth County hospital christened her 'India.'
According to Freeman, India is currently receiving medical attention in the hospital. She will later be placed in foster care by the Department of Family and Children's Services.
Meanwhile, investigators are canvassing the area, checking surveillance cameras, and asking for the community's help in understanding how the newborn baby got there in the first place. If the person involved is successfully located, they could be charged with offenses including abandonment and cruelty to children in the first degree.
But until authorities are sure what happened, they are not going to speculate on criminal charges, Freeman added. As of now, their first priority is making sure India and her biological mother are both safe and in good condition.
Investigators have released the infant’s image in hopes of tracking down her mother.
Anyone with information regarding her mother, her birth or family is requested to call the sheriff’s office at 770-781- 3087.