Abandoned Baby Found Alive in North Carolina Dumpster

An abandoned baby was discovered in a dumpster near an apartment building in Greenville, North Carolina, on Sunday morning, according to police.

Greenville police went to 1574 Bridle Circle around 10:20 a.m. after receiving a call about a baby, only one or two days old, who was found in dumpster, WITN reported.

Resident Jaylen Parker told the outlet his sister found the baby in the trash and brought the child inside before police arrived. The temperature was in the low 40s when she found the baby, according to the report.

Greenville police are investigating after a newborn baby was found in a dumpster Sunday morning.https://t.co/XP2oSUFlKI pic.twitter.com/yyEBKXuZxz

— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News) January 14, 2024

“I woke up. My sister brought a baby in the house,” Parker said. “I was shocked. And then that’s when I found out what had happened.”

Officers said the baby was discovered alive, and Greenville Fire and Rescue transported the infant to ECU Health for evaluation.

Situations like these are avoidable because of the state’s Safe Haven law. North Carolina’s Safe Surrender Law allows parents to surrender their newborns up to 30 days old to a designated safe person, according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

Safe persons under the law include:

• A health care provider who is on duty or at a hospital or at a local or district health department or at a nonprofit community health center.
• A first responder, including a law enforcement officer, a certified emergency medical services worker, or a firefighter.
• A social services worker who is on duty or at a local department of social services.

Detectives are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Greenville Police Department (252) 329-4315 or Crime Stoppers (252) 758-7777.