On Thursday, March 9, 2023, a one-hour-old baby boy was found alive inside a gas station trash can in Fullerton, Orange County, California.
The discovery prompted authorities to search for the mother, whose identity is unknown.
Crews were called to the Chevron gas station, located in the 900 block of Orangethorpe Avenue, at around 3:30 pm after an employee of the gas station discovered the baby boy in the bathroom, placed in a bag inside of the trashcan. Officers immediately began lifesaving measures and firefighters transported the baby to a nearby children’s hospital in the city of Orange.
Fullerton Police Department reported that the baby is in critical but stable condition.
Authorities are examining security footage in their search for the mother. Sergeant Ryan O’Neil from the Fullerton Police Department said that it is an active investigation, and they are working all possible leads to solve the issue.
It is not known whether the baby’s mother had given birth at the gas station. “There are Safe Surrender Baby laws that allow parents, guardians or mothers to surrender their child within 72 hours of birth with no questions asked,” said O’Neil. There are hospitals designated as safe surrender along with fire departments.
The process is legal, confidential, and free. The person has to state that they would like to safely surrender the baby and will be given matching ID bracelets with the baby in case the person wants to later reclaim the baby. The person surrendering the baby will also be provided with an optional medical questionnaire.
Detectives are investigating who and how the baby was abandoned. Anyone with information about the abandoning of the infant was asked to call Detective Marcus Saenz at 714-738-5361. Anonymous calls can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or sent to occrimestoppers.org.
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