'Miracle' Baby Dumped in Trash by 13-Y-O Mother Found Alive; 'She Was Going to Die' Said Couple Who Saved Her and Now Want to Adopt
A newborn baby girl who police say was dumped in a trash receptacle by her 13-year-old mother could soon find herself a new home in the arms of the loving couple who helped rescue her in Merced, California, last Thursday.
Capt. Tom Trinidad told KCRA 3 that the baby girl was discovered by a man who was alerted by rustling and movement while he rummaged through a dumpster for recyclables at the Sunnyside apartment complex at about 5:45 a.m. The man, who was not identified, screamed on seeing the baby and attracted the attention of Jimmy and Annette Alvarez who joined him with a flashlight and called 911 after seeing that the baby was hardly moving.
"There were flies, gnats, all kinds of trash and I said, 'She can't be like that,'" Jimmy Alvarez told KRCA. He said he reached down into the dumpster and scooped up the child and wrapped her in his T-shirt.
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Annett Alvarez said she then tapped the baby's chest and she took a deep breath before screaming loudly. "She was cold and she wasn't really moving, but as soon as I was rubbing her and getting her warmed up, she gasped for air and cried. I said, 'Oh my God.' I think she was going to die if we had not found her."
At the time of the discovery, shocked neighbors wondered why anyone would abandon a newborn child when there were so many places in the state where women can surrender their children if they aren't able to care for them.
"I think there needs to be more information out there for these young women, troubled women, those that don't know that they can surrender a baby at a fire station, police station, the hospital — but not in the trash," said neighbor J.P. Morgan.
A Los Angeles Times report said police were able to track down the baby's mother through tips from the public and she admitted to giving birth to the baby girl. They said the teenager's mother was not aware that her daughter had been pregnant.
Nevertheless, Capt. Trinidad said the teenage mother was placed in the custody of Merced County's Child Protective Services officials "for her safety."
Investigators are now trying to locate the baby's father to determine if the teenager was a victim of sexual abuse. She has not been charged with a crime.
"Everybody feels much relief," Trinidad said. "It could have been much more tragic."
According to KCRA 3, the Alvarez couple, who have a total of 37 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are now taking steps to adopt the baby girl and have named her "Milagro" which is the Spanish word for miracle.
"You know, if you would have held her, you wouldn't want to let her go. You'd be fighting for her, too," said Annette Alvarez. "I've been a foster parent before and kids just touch my heart, because they don't ask to be here."
Trinidad acknowledged, however, that the girl and her parents still have parental rights.
