IMPD officers found a newborn baby near a trail on Lace Bark Lane and Long Wharf Drive shortly before midnight on July 24, and the infant was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Police said they were dispatched to check on the welfare of a child before finding the baby.
The case is drawing attention now because police are asking for help identifying the mother, and they said they are concerned about her safety. Anyone with information can contact IMPD, and informants may remain anonymous.
By July 25, IMPD had said only that officers were sent to check on a child’s welfare. As of noon on July 26, the department had not responded to a request for an update on the baby or the mother.
Police are treating the case as an abandoned infant matter, which is why Indiana’s Safe Haven Law is part of the public conversation around the discovery. The law allows someone to anonymously surrender an infant without prosecution, and after a surrender, the baby is placed under Child Protective Services or a Licensed Child Placing Agency.
What remains unsettled is how the newborn ended up near the trail in the first place. The baby’s condition is stable, but the mother’s whereabouts and safety are still unknown, and that is now the part of the story that matters most.
