The parents of a newborn boy who was discovered abandoned in a driveway on one of the hottest days of the year are being sought by Orlando authorities.
Around 7:20 a.m. on Monday, July 28, the one-week-old baby was found strapped in a car seat outside a house on the 5500 block of Lido Street, according to local media sites WKMG, WOFL, and WFLA. At that time, the temperature was already in the nineties.
This is the warmest day of the year, a neighbor who was shocked by the discovery informed reporters. “It’s crazy,” Nolan Clark said. Based on our knowledge, it may have occurred at night. I hope the mother and child are doing well.
After being transferred to a nearby hospital, where he is apparently doing well, the infant seemed to be uninjured. The moment a homeowner discovered the boy, carefully raising a blanket to see how he was doing, was caught on camera. Later, a police officer was seen handling the baby with care on bodycam footage.
Police in Orlando have opened an investigation and are asking locals to look through their home security footage for any hints. The baby’s parents have not yet been identified.
Florida’s Safe Haven law, which permits parents to legally and anonymously turn over an undamaged baby at specified locations like hospitals, fire stations, or emergency medical facilities without fear of prosecution, was brought to the public’s attention by authorities through the incident.
In a statement to WKMG, the Orlando Police Department stated that parents can leave their infants at these places without any inquiries.
Safe Haven regulations were created to shield newborns from abuse and abandonment. More than 5,000 babies have been securely turned in around the country since the first law was established in Texas in 1999. However, according to the National Safe Haven Alliance, 122 kids were lawfully turned over under Safe Haven safeguards in 2023 alone, whereas 41 babies were unlawfully abandoned, 28 of whom were discovered dead.
It is recommended that anybody with information about the event contact the Orlando Police Department at 321-235-5300 or submit an anonymous tip online at crimeline.org or by calling 800-423-TIPS (8477).
