CHESTERFIELD COUNTY - RICHMOND—
A newborn baby girl appears to be in good health and is under the watchful eye of child protective services, according to Chesterfield County Police.The infant was discovered Monday around 4:00 p.m. in a brown paper shopping bag, near a school bus stop on Vickilee Court.
Neighbor Rachel White said it appeared the baby, whose umbilical cord was still attached, was clean, other than she had soiled herself.
The white, cotton miniskirt she was swaddled in also appeared to be otherwise clean, indicating the baby had been washed of the usual fluids that accompany birth.
Investigators are planning to check with the school bus driver and the students on the bus, along with school resource officers who may know pregnant students.
Investigators are also considering the possibility that the person who dropped off the baby is familiar with the neighborhood and knew a bus stop was there and the child stood a good chance of being found quickly.
Police say a neighbor saw a brown paper bag at the bus stop at the end of the street early Monday morning. They picked up the bag, thinking it was trash for recycling, then put it back and walked away.
Later in the day, the same woman came back to the bus stop with another neighbor, who's dogged picked up a scent from the bag. That's when they opened it and found baby girl with her umbilical cord still attached.
Police say the baby is doing well at Chippenham hospital and was delivered full-term. She is Caucasian and is about a day and a half old.
The low temperature Monday was 37 degrees and the high only reached 59.
The neighbor who found the newborn... took her home, cleaned her and called police.
She didn't want to talk on camera but tells CBS 6, she's concerned about the baby's welfare.
Other parents like Gerald Lumpkin told his 11-year-old son about this heartbreaking story...and hopes he will learn from it. "He has a better respect for life than that. I would like to think whatever we tell him, what we've been telling him his whole life. Things like that you just don't do," said Gerald Lumpkins.
We wanted to know what will happen to that little baby girl now?
Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Social services director tells CBS 6, if they don't find the mom, they get custody of her. Then, she'll be turned over to a Foster family. "They go through extensive classroom training, as well as extensive in-home assessment. We have staff going in their homes making thorough assessment of their home," said Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Social services director, Dr. Suzanne Fountain.
Dr. Fountain tells CBS 6, they've received a number of calls from parents wanting to adopt the little baby girl. She calls this a silver lining to a disturbing story. Now, Fountain is hoping to get more parents to become foster parents because right now, there's a shortage of them.
CBS 6 will stay on top of this story and let you know what happens to that little baby girl.
