Newborn Baby Girl Abandoned at a School, TN
Baby Abandoned at School WDEF-TV News 12 Aug 23, 2006 9:45 PM EDT A woman found an abandoned baby early Wednesday morning outside a Head Start facility in Whitwell. Doctors estimate the girl was only 12 to 36 hours old and her umbilical cord was still attached. Paramedics took the infant to T.C. Thompson Children's hospital, where she's doing fine. Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnette says she'll stay at the hospital for the next few days. After that, the Department of Human Services will take custody. Under Tennessee law, mothers with unwanted children can leave them at designated safe havens, such as hospitals or police stations, without fear of prosecution. However, Burnett says he talked to the District Attorney, and schools do not qualify as safe havens. http://www.wdef.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WDEF/MGArticle/DEF_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190157770&path=

Police seeking mother of abandoned baby Authorities in Jasper, TN are looking for whomever abandoned a baby at a Head Start center. A teacher arriving at the center in the Griffith Creek community of Marion County discovered the infant Wednesday. She had been placed in a laundry basket and left on a sidewalk. Sheriff's Chief Detective Wayne Jordan says investigators have talked with more than two dozen women since the baby was found and has eliminated all of them as suspects. Authorities say they need to know who "Baby Doe" is so they can expedite finding a home for her -- not necessarily to prosecute the mother. Last updated: 8/29/2006 12:54:41 PM http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=37386