Abandoned Baby Found In Cardboard Box On New Year’s Eve With Heartbreaking Note From Mother
"Find me a loving family."
Facebook A newborn baby was found abandoned in a cardboard box in Fairbanks, Alaska, as residents in the town prepared to welcome in the New Year.
Alaska State Troopers received a report about the abandoned baby on New Year's Eve after an Alaskan resident found the box with the child bundled in blankets.
A note was found with the abandoned baby.
The resident who found the infant, Roxy Lane, posted a video to social media of the baby alongside a heartbreaking letter that reveals the tragic circumstances on the baby's birth.
"Today I found an abandoned newborn in a cardboard [box] at the row of mailboxes by my house," Lane wrote in her post.
"I've been processing my feelings all day and running through all the different scenarios and reasons, with my bf and family, as to why something like this could have happened."
Authorities noted that the note left with the child indicated that “the parent could not take care” of the baby.
The baby was transported to a local hospital and “was found to be in good health,” according to police.
The note found alongside the child explained that he had been born twelve weeks premature, and that his name is Teshawn.
The note suggest financial strain prevented the mother from keeping her child.
“My parents and grandparents don’t have food or money to raise me. They never wanted to do this to me,” the note said.
“Please take me and find me a loving family. My parents are begging whoever finds me. My name is Teshawn.”
In her social media post of the baby, Lane added that the parents might have been too young to know that the state of Alaska has a safe haven law that allows parents to safely give up their unwanted child at a local hospital, church, police or fire station.
Children can also be given up to “any person the parent reasonably believes would keep the infant safe and provide appropriate care,” according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
Lane pleaded with anyone who might know the mother to reach out, writing in her post that she believed the woman might be in need of medical help or “might be in a desperate situation, feeling abandoned herself.”
“I hope the mother gets the help she might need. I doubt they could have afforded to take her to the hospital and she may be in need of medical attention,” Lane continued.
It’s clear the mother of the baby had no other choice but to give up her son, writing on the note, “They NEVER wanted to do this.”
“Clearly, someone in our community felt so lost and hopeless that they made probably the hardest choice of their lives to leave that innocent life on the side of the road with nothing but some blankets and a name,” Lane continued in her post.
“But she named him! There’s some love there, even if she made a terrible decision. I know we’re all struggling, I see it. I see you. I love you all and I’m here. Today I saved a baby and I’ll probably think about Teshawn for the rest of my life.”
Lane told The Daily Beast that she had released the video hoping that anyone involved received the help they needed and “that whatever justice needed to be served would be served.”
According to Anchorage Daily News, a representative at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital confirmed that “the baby is doing well and very healthy.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.