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Authorities urge new parents to use Safe Haven Baby Box after newborn found in bag

Safe Haven Baby Boxes

News 8's Dan Klein reports

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police in Seymour are talking with a person of interest connected to a baby found inside a plastic bag.

The person is not a suspect, but may have information investigators need to move forward in the investigation.

Police say someone walking their dog found the baby in a bag along a fence near a road.

Officers took the baby to the hospital and doctors said it was healthy. So far police have not made any arrests in the case.

Seymour is one of 13 Indiana cities with a Safe Haven Baby Box. It’s located at the fire station.

The only one in Marion County was installed at the Decatur Township Fire Department on Foltz Street last summer.

The Safe Haven Baby Box at Decatur Township’s Fire Station 74 is equipped with a small door, a mattress, and a temperature-controlling fan.

It’s a safe space for a baby and an anonymous way for a parent to place it with authorities.

“There are no cameras here. We can’t see who drops them off. So they can drop them off without anyone knowing who they are,” said Decatur Township Fire Department public information officer Billie Auberry.

The door to the box locks once it is closed and an alarm is triggered on a small time delay. It was designed with the hope that no other baby is left to fend for itself like the one in Seymour Tuesday afternoon.

“It makes me sad,” said Auberry. “It saddens your heart not knowing what the thought process is of that young mother or what she’s going through at that time.”

The footprint logo seen on the Safe Haven Baby Boxes isn’t just any footprint. It comes from baby Amelia, a newborn whose body was found in Eagle Creek Park in December 2014.

The founder of Safe Haven is a retired firefighter and medic who lives in northern Indiana.

While word is spreading of the boxes’ existence, too many new parents may not know about them. It’s meant to help all parents who don’t know where to turn.

Another great resource for new parents is the Safe Haven phone number 1-866-99-BABY-1.

“It’s a crisis line they can interview and talk to them and help with with options and interventions,” explained Auberry.

In addition to the Safe Haven Baby Box in Decatur Township at 3750 Foltz Street, there is also one at the Carmel fire station at 107th and College as well as in North Vernon and Seymour. Click here to find additional locations.