Dead Baby Found In Bernalillo County

Property Owner Discovers Child Under Blanket Inside Box

POSTED: 6:32 pm MDT March 28, 2010
UPDATED: 7:03 pm MDT March 28, 2010

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --
The Bernalillo County sheriff called the discovery of a dead child "disturbing."

The sheriff's department said it found a dead baby near Highway 14 at about 12:30 p.m.

A property owner and his wife were walking around when they saw what they described as a baby blanket. There was a box underneath the blanket and when they looked inside they found the dead baby, police said.

So far, the sheriff told Action 7 News he thinks they baby was an infant up to two months old. He did not reveal the baby's gender.

The property owner said he saw the blanket there since January when he bought the property, but because of the snow, he just walked the land to see what it was.

The sheriff's department said it is trying to find anything that will lead them to the baby's parents.

"Our detectives are going through. They have a pretty large crime scene. It's a pretty large property. They want to comb the area for any additional evidence," said Deputy Lawrence Koran, with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.

"This is a very sad, upsetting event. It's unfortunate that this took place," said Sheriff Manuel Gonzales.

Gonzales said at this point they do not know if there are any missing infants. He said the first thing is to try to identify the baby. Detectives are also trying to determine how the child ended up at the location.

The sheriff wants to remind everyone about the Safe Haven Law --- babies up to 90 days old can be dropped off at any hospital, police station or fire station without facing any criminal charges.

From: http://www.koat.com/news/22982627/detail.html