KATY, Texas – Just as the sun was rising in the sky Saturday morning, a baby was born. Before lunch, a man dumped the baby on a walking trail near a bayou in Harris County.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the baby was found wrapped in a towel around 9 a.m. at the end of a cul-de-sac on Casa Martin Drive.
- SEE OUR FIRST REPORT: Premature infant found abandoned near bayou in W Harris Co.
According to detectives, the baby still had the umbilical cord attached.
“The baby was a newborn,” said Sgt. Juan Garcia with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. “Still had fresh placenta on the baby. So, it was freshly born this morning.”
Security camera video captured a man abandoning the baby on a bridge that connects homes off Casa Martin Drive to the walking trail along a bayou.
“That’s gross negligence,” said Daniel Moran. “The baby could die within an hour or two. It’s incomprehensible really.”
Thankfully, a family walking the trail was headed home and spotted the baby within a few minutes of her being placed on the ground.
“We were coming back from our walk this morning, heading home because it was hot,” said Daniela Fedele, who spotted the towel on the bridge. “When I went ahead and looked closer, that’s when I noticed a little baby would like her two feet moving. I think it was like, am I seeing this, right? Like, are my eyes really seeing a baby here?”
Her husband scooped up the baby while Daniela called 911.
“I hold it. The baby opens their eyes to me, looked at me,” Luis Marin told KPRC2′s Gage Goulding. “We make eye contact. And I’m like, how can somebody just do this?”
“It had the umbilical cord. So, it’s like so many questions go through your mind,” added Fedele.
Paramedics rushed the baby to the hospital.
The infant is already doing much better, thanks in part to this family who was chosen to be in the right place to save her life.
“We were just there by chance. I guess by God,” Fedele said. “God put us there, I guess.
Detectives now need your help tracking down the man who left this child here.
Update: we need your help! We are seeking info 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
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) June 15, 2024
1/2 https://t.co/5gqP4OwLbt
The suspect is described as young, slim Hispanic or white man with fair complexion and black hair.
He was wearing a black shirt and possibly gray pants.
If you have any information, submit an anonymous online tip to Crime Stoppers of Houston or call 713-222-TIPS (8477).