Dead baby found in baby playpen, police investigate

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — Police are investigating after a girl’s body was found at a southeastern Idaho hospital in a box intended for people to anonymously donate a newborn baby, officials said Monday.

Police officers in Blackfoot, Idaho, about 250 miles east of Boise, responded Oct. 13 to a report of a deceased baby left at the jail. Safe haven baby box at Grove Creek Medical Center, news media reported.

Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said in a social media post on Monday that hospital staff responded within a minute to an alarm indicating a baby was in the playpen, which was installed earlier this year. Staff quickly realized the child had died before being placed inside.

“We are devastated,” Kelsey said. “Anonymity is only allowed if a baby is transferred safely and completely unharmed.”

Idaho law only allows the surrender of a child who is unharmed and healthy.

The organization and hospital staff are cooperating with police investigators, officials said. The baby was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached, Kelsey said.

Grove Creek Medical Center officials said in a social media post Monday that staff members “gave their all in a heartbreaking situation.”

Kelsey, who herself was abandoned after her birth in 1973, took off Safe haven baby boxes in Indiana in 2016. The stalls equipped at fire departments and hospitals are intended to provide a safe and anonymous way to surrender a newborn baby.

The medical boxes are installed in the outer wall of the building. An exterior door automatically locks when a newborn baby is placed inside, and a medical staff member opens an interior door to secure the baby.

Boxes are available in more than a dozen states. Since 2017, 52 babies have been surrendered to the organization’s baby box locations, Kelsey said.

She said Safe Haven Baby Boxes will continue to educate people about how the program works.