A dead newborn baby girl was found in Idaho’s only Safe Haven Baby Box on Oct. 13, police announced this week.
Staff with Grove Creek Medical Center immediately responded to an alarm that indicated that a baby had been placed in the box and removed her within a minute, Safe Haven Baby Boxes said in a press release posted to Facebook. Upon removal, staff “quickly realized” the infant had died long before she had been placed in the baby box, according to the organization.
Idaho’s Safe Haven law allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed and healthy, meaning this surrender was not legal.
“We are heartbroken. Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment. Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed,” Safe Haven Baby Boxes Founder Monica Kelsey said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with the investigation and providing all information we possess to local authorities. When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.”
“As the only organization that provides an anonymous surrender option, we are on the front lines of educating the public on how this program works. We will continue to educate citizens on the stark differences between illegal abandonment and legal, safe surrender of an unharmed newborn,” she added.
Kelsey posted a video update to Facebook on Thursday, stating that the parent’s identity is now known to police.
“It is not because there’s cameras on these boxes, there is no cameras on these boxes,” she said. “It was either old fashioned police work or she stepped forward.”
Both the Twin Falls Police Department and the Blackfoot Police Department are investigating, officials said.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and community affected by this loss. The health and safety of our community’s children remain our top priority,” the Twin Falls Police Department stated in a press release on Monday.
Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators often built into exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals that can be accessed from the inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally place their newborns inside. Once a baby is inside the baby box, the outside door locks, and the mother has time to leave before an alarm goes off alerting first responders or hospital staff to the child’s presence.
The baby is then quickly removed and sent to a hospital for a wellness check. From there, the baby is usually placed into state custody and is often adopted quickly.
The Idaho box, which is located at Grove Creek Medical Center at 350 N Meridian in Blackfoot, was officially blessed in July.
Idaho lawmakers unanimously passed an amendment to the existing Safe Haven Baby Act in March allowing Safe Haven Baby Boxes to be used, according to the Idaho State Journal. Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) quickly signed the law and it went into effect on July 1.
In Idaho, healthy, unharmed infants up to 30 days old may be surrendered to baby boxes or face to face to hospitals, fire stations, EMS providers, physicians, and nurses, according to Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
Fifty-two infants have been legally surrendered to Safe Haven Baby Boxes since 2017, and each infant has been adopted, according to the organization.
