Police are searching for a mother who abandoned her newborn daughter on the porch of a home in southwest Atlanta Monday.
Margaret Benton told police she and her family returned to their Harlan Road home to find a newborn baby swaddled in a pink Hello Kitty blanket.
The hours-old infant still had her umbilical cord attached, the AJC.com reports.
Atlanta police Lt. Celeste Murphy told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she had no leads on the mother who abandoned the newborn.
“We have a mother that just had a baby that may not have sought medical attention, and we have a concern about that as well,” Murphy told the AJC. “We want to make sure that she seeks medical attention.”
Murphy said the newborn is in “good, healthy condition this morning,” at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.
“Up to seven days old, any child can be left with any medical facility and there are no criminal repercussions for that,” Murphy said.
The infant will be turned over to the Department of Family and Children’s Services for placement if the mother isn’t located.
