Two newborns were discovered abandoned outside a business Tuesday afternoon in Fairfield, California, police said, but one was pronounced dead shortly after officials found the pair.
The infants were found on the ground behind a business after someone called to report a woman outside the establishment around 4:15 p.m., Fairfield police Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen said Tuesday.
The first officer on the scene immediately started life-saving measures, police said in a statement Tuesday. “There was nothing the officer or fire personnel could do,” Jacobsen said.
The woman thought to be the mother was found on a sidewalk a short distance away, and it was apparent from her condition that she had recently given birth, he said.
She was not identified, but Jacobsen said the woman was detained and taken to a hospital for an evaluation. It was not clear Wednesday night if she was still at the hospital, and Jacobsen did not immediately return an email Wednesday night.
Police said Tuesday that the case was under investigation.
California has a law in which people can drop off babies at fire stations, hospitals or other facilities. California created its safe surrender measure in 2001, and it was signed permanently into state law in 2006. Its intent is to save the lives of infants at risk of abandonment, according to the California Department of Social Services.
Between 2001 and Dec. 31, 2017, more than 900 newborns were surrendered under the law, including 88 in 2017, according to the department.
NBC Bay Area reported Tuesday that police said they have located some of the woman’s relatives, but it was unclear who would get custody of the newborn who survived.