Newborn Found In Public Restroom Trash Can At A California Park

Police in Los Angeles County, California, have launched an investigation after a newborn baby was found abandoned in the trash can of a park's public restroom Friday.

The Century Sheriff's Station received a report around 8 a.m. from a concerned citizen about an infant who was found in the women's restroom at Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park in Lynwood, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said in a news release Saturday.

According to police, responding deputies found the infant in the restroom's garbage bin. Members of the L.A. County Fire Department arrived on the scene and provided emergency aid to the child before the infant was taken to a hospital.

The baby boy was listed in stable condition and will remain at the hospital for observation, police said.

The sheriff’s department said they believe the child was born sometime between Wednesday and Friday, according to the statement.

The department's special victims bureau — the division tasked with investigating the sexual and physical abuse of children and felonious sexual assaults involving adult victims — canvassed the area and has asked for the public's help for information regarding the boy's abandonment.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Special Victims Bureau toll free tip line at (877) 710-5273 or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.

If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP or “P3 Mobile” for the hearing impaired on Google play or the App Store, or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

The investigation is still in the early stages, police said.

The LASD said parents who are unable to take care of their newborns can make use of California's Safely Surrendered Baby law, which, according to the statement, "gives parents or guardians the choice to legally and safely surrender their baby at any hospital or fire station in Los Angeles County, no questions asked."

"Some parents of newborns can find themselves in difficult circumstances. Sadly, babies are sometimes harmed or abandoned by parents who feel that they’re not ready or able to raise a child, or don’t know there are other options. Many of these mothers or fathers are afraid and don’t know where to turn for help," the sheriff’s department continued.

According to the department, over 180 newborns have been safely surrendered since the program was launched in L.A. County.