A Katy, Texas, family out for a Saturday morning walk was “in the right place at the right time” when they discovered an abandoned baby along the neighborhood trail, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Daniela Fedele told KHOU that her 3-year-old daughter was riding her bike ahead of her when they noticed something wrapped in a towel on a bridge along the pathway.
“I noticed two little feet moving and then my husband was right behind me with the dogs, and I yelled to my husband. I’m like, ‘oh my god, a baby, a baby,'” Fedele said, per KHOU. “And then my husband [was] like, ‘call 911, call 911’ and that’s what we did.”
The sheriff’s department responded to the call at about 9 a.m. on June 15 in the 5400 block of Casa Martin Drive.
Sgt. Juan Garcia with the Child Abuse Unit of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) described the infant at a press conference as “freshly born.” The premature baby was found with the umbilical cord still attached. She was naked and wrapped in a towel.
The baby was transported to Methodist Hospital where she was listed in “stable condition,” according to Garcia. “At this time, the child is going to be ascertained for any medical issues or anything like that, testing, and once the child is passed and cleared with the doctor, of course, CPS will step in and they provide some kind of housing or foster care for the child.”
Garcia said that the family who found the infant reported seeing a young man walking away from the towel, and investigators are looking into possible video footage of the alleged suspect.
“We have an unknown male who dropped the child off at the 5400 block of Casa Martin Drive,” Garcia said. “Right now we don’t have any leads … so that’s all the information we have currently.”
“The two witnesses that were, thankfully, walking on the trail … were a blessing,” Garcia said. “They were able to notice right away a male walking away from a white towel. They discovered the child and immediately contacted 911.”
He noted that they were “in the right place at the right time” so that the child was not out in the elements for very long.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of the HCSO posted an update via social media stating that investigators are seeking information about a “young Hispanic or White male, slim, fair complexion with black hair, that was holding the infant wrapped in a towel. He was wearing a black shirt, possibly gray pants. The male was on foot on the Plantation Lakes walking trail.”
Anyone with any information is urged to call the police department at 713-83-3250 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-8477. The suspect who left the baby on the trail could face charges of endangerment and abandonment of a child.
“In a situation like this, if you end up having a child and you’re not prepared … there’s a child ‘Moses’ law where you can always go to a fire station, go to a hospital, release and surrender the child to professional services to where the child can be in a better element than out here in this heat,” Garcia said.
