After a baby is found in the trash at a Lynwood park bathroom, 2 women are sought - Los Angeles Times
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After a baby is found in the trash at a Lynwood park bathroom, 2 women are sought

Two women stand in front of a park bench to the left of girl pushing a pink toy stroller.
The Sheriff’s Department said the two women above are “people of interest” in the case of a newborn found in a trash can in Lynwood last week.
(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has released images from video of two women being sought for questioning in connection with a newborn boy who was found in the trash of a Lynwood park bathroom last week.

A woman visiting Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park around 8 a.m. Friday heard whimpering from a trash can in a women’s restroom. Inside the bin, she found an infant among the rubbish, Lt. John Adams of the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau said at a conference Thursday afternoon.

There was evidence the child — a boy — was delivered in the bathroom, and authorities said he appeared to be a day or two old when found.

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The baby was taken to a hospital, where he was admitted to the neonatal intensive care, Adams said. The child is currently in stable condition, authorities said.

Surveillance video that the Sheriff’s Department released shows what appears to be two women and a young child with a pink stroller walking together before sitting on a bench. Authorities also released a sketch of one of the women.

Adams did not disclose what connection the two may have to the incident.

Investigators are trying to identify the women, saying they are “people of interest that we believe will provide pertinent information to this case,” he said.

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After many people inquired about adopting the child — including sheriff’s investigators, fire personnel and nurses who treated the boy at the hospital — an adoption process was initiated for the baby, who was placed into the care of the Department of Children and Family Services, Adams said.

If found, the baby’s mother could face charges of child endangerment or child abandonment, Adams said.

California has a law that allows parents or guardians to surrender a newborn at hospitals and fire stations without legal repercussions.

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The state law was first created in 2001. Since then, more than 180 babies have been safely surrendered in Los Angeles County, Sheriff’s Department officials said.

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