ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A newborn baby was found inside a Converse shoe box outside an apartment complex, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrived at Bella Vista Place Apartments, 2814 Silkwood Circle, at 1:07 p.m., deputies said.
It was two minutes earlier, at 1:05 p.m., when Sarah Nazario told News 6 she was checking on a package she was waiting to arrive when she found the baby across the hall on a doorstep and called 911.
“He was just a brand new, fresh baby,” she said. “I open my door, and I saw the baby. I saw him in a box. His little foot was sticking out of the box. I saw him wiggle his foot -- it’s a real baby, he’s alive, I need to do something about it, so that’s when I called 911.”
Fire officials took the newborn to a hospital, where the baby is in good condition, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
At first, Ariel Piner said she had no idea this all happened right at her doorstep. She told News 6 she's only lived her for a month and also found a note in the shoe box.
“It hurt my heart. Why would you do that?” she said. “The letter was basically saying, like, ‘Please take care of this child. I couldn’t take care of it.’ God is going to handle that situation. God is going to handle that.”
No arrests have been made.
“I was shocked,” one neighbor said. “I don’t really feel like it’s a random act. It’s too close to home.”
“It’s still early in the investigation, but we will provide further information as it becomes available,” deputies said.
Under Florida’s Safe Haven Law, anyone can bring an unwanted newborn to any hospital or fire station with no questions asked and without facing criminal charges.