Mother located after newborn baby found abandoned in Tampa

TAMPA (FOX 13) - An abandoned baby was found in Tampa Thursday night, and by midnight, they say they identified and located the mother.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the baby was found at the intersection of 18th Street N and E 143rd Avenue - just two blocks from the HCSO District 1 headquarters - at about 5:30 p.m. The woman who found the newborn told investigators she immediately took the baby to Florida Hospital and then called authorities.

The baby was found wrapped in a red towel with no diaper or other clothing, HCSO said.

The baby was in critical but stable condition Thursday night. The hospital and HCSO said the baby is light-skinned and may be Caucasian or Hispanic, and was probably between 12 and 18 hours old.

No other information was provided by HCSO detectives, including the identity of the mother, her age, or the circumstances leading up to the infant being alone.

HCSO reminds citizens there are safe places where newborn babies may be left with, under some circumstances, without risk of penalty or identification. Those locations can include hospitals and fire stations.