Local News

Newborn Abandoned In Uptown Recovering Well

Man Takes Baby To Firehouse Down The Street

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A Good Samaritan may be responsible for saving the life of a newborn baby. As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, the infant was found abandoned in some bushes in Uptown, but was recovering and doing well Tuesday afternoon.

Neighbors in the 4600 block of North Beacon Street were stunned to learn a newborn baby was left abandoned right outside their door.

Trazell Martin said, "When they told me, I was almost hyperventilating because you know how you love your kids and to hear something like that happening, it's terrible."

Many neighbors heard what they described as "screeching sounds" and thought it was an animal. Debbie Jones heard it as early as 10 p.m. Monday.

"It's just so sad. I wish I would have come out," Jones said.

Around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, another neighbor on the block, Brandon Shepard, was returning home from a date when he heard a baby crying, according to Town Hall District police Capt. William Wallace. Several windows of the large, multi-unit apartment complex were open and he thought the child was inside, so he went in but continued to hear the crying for 20 or 30 minutes.

Shepard then walked outside and found the baby, his umbilical cord still attached, inside a plastic bag in the bushes next to the front door, Wallace said.

"He comes back out and looks and sees the little tyke in a plastic bag,'' according to Wallace, who said the umbilical cord was cut but not tied off.

Shepard ran to the nearest fire station where he banged on the door and woke the firefighters, who sprang into action to warm the baby.

Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Marc Levinson said, "They started immediate treatment. The baby was relatively healthy upon arriving at the firehouse. There was some hypothermia." The boy also had a cut lip and swelling on the back of his head.

Shepard's actions didn't surprise neighbor Patrick Evans.

"He's a really nice guy," said Evans, 25. "He seems like the kind of person who would go above and beyond for someone in need."

Doctors said the newborn would not have survived outside much longer, but now is expected to make a full recovery.

"We're hoping for a full recovery," said Dr. Richard Felman, chairman of emergency medicine at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. "The baby is doing very well. The temperature, which was not more than 86 degrees Fahrenheit, has come up to normal."

He estimated the baby was less than a day old and was born at full term, between 36 and 38 weeks.

The baby boy, weighing five pounds and is possibly Hispanic. It's unknown who the mother is, or if she was even aware of Illinois' Safe Haven Law, which allows anyone to anonymously drop off a newborn at an appropriate location – a hospital, police station or fire station – no questions asked.

"We are available at every firehouse, police station and hospital throughout the state of Illinois. Utilize the service. It's a lifesaver," Lefinson said.

Since the Illinois Safe Haven Law took effect in 2001, 45 newborns have been left unharmed at hospitals, firehouses, or police stations.

Authorities said the mother in this case may have been unaware of the law because it's possible she doesn't speak English. Once the newborn is in good enough condition to leave the hospital, he'll be transferred to the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

DCFS is already investigating the case, but a representative had no information about the search for the baby's parents.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---