10 days ago
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A woman living at Forest Pointe Apartments made the discovery around 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. She'd gone to take her garbage out and heard baby cries. She scooped that baby out and called 9-1-1.
Sgt. Ron Galaviz with the Indiana State Police says, "This woman's quick actions, her quick thinking lead to the positive resolution, which was, ultimately saving this babies life."
Emergency responders got the infant to a hospital. Police then caught up with the baby's mom 19-year old Alison Lesch.
Chief Martin McCoy with the Auburn, Indiana Police Dept. says, "There was some evidence they found with in the dumpster they'd done some interviews with some people who live here, just great detective work."
News of the discovery hit residents of the apartment building very hard. Jeanette Deke is fighting guilt. She says the baby may have been in there when she took her garbage out.
"When you throw garbage in a dumpster, you lift the lid, you throw your garbage in and you walk away, and I come home an hour later to find out there was a baby in there. Dealing with that, is just difficult," says Deke.
How this baby girl ended up in the dumpster has many people asking questions, especially with the Safe Haven laws that are in place in Indiana.
Bob Floyd with the National Safe Haven Alliance says, "It was completely unnecessary because of the Safe Havens Law, which would've given her the opportunity to turn her baby over, no questions asked."
The Indiana Safe Haven Law allows a parent to surrender a child up to 45 days old to medical or emergency personnel.
The law protects a parent in that situation from being prosecuted for abandonment.
