A Texas couple rescued an abandoned baby with its umbilical cord still attached Saturday morning, officials said.
Daniela Fedele was taking a walk with her family when they discovered a towel on the ground, according to KHOU News. Fedele’s daughter reportedly rode her bike near the towel, where they ultimately discovered a newborn.
“I noticed two little feet moving and then my husband was right behind me with the dogs, and I yelled to my husband. I’m like, oh my god, a baby, a baby,” Fedele told the outlet. “And then my husbands like, call 911, call 911 and that’s what we did.”
The baby “still had fresh placenta … so it was freshly born this morning,” Sgt. Juan Garcia, with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), said at a press conference Saturday. The newborn appears to be pre-term and was found with its umbilical cord still attached, the New York Post reported.
The baby was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition, Garcia said at the press conference. The identity of the man who dropped off the baby is unknown, he added. The HCSO is currently searching for a suspect, according to KHOU.
Garcia praised Fedele for rescuing the baby, saying she was “in the right place at the right time.” (RELATED: MLB Hall Of Fame Pitcher’s Daughter Allegedly Abandoned Her Baby In The Woods At Birth. Now They’re Reunited).
Security camera footage obtained by KHOU from “a neighbor” not only shows the moment the Fedele family discovered the baby, but appears to show the moment it was left behind.
In the video, a man appears to place a towel on the ground where the baby was found before running away. In another clip, the Fedele family can be seen rushing over to the area. They can later be seen handing over the baby to police officers.
Fedele told KHOU she was shocked by the finding.
“This image has been going on through my head so many times, and this is, like, how can you do that? I was shocked, I was mad, I was upset,” she told the outlet.
Fedele also reportedly expressed her relief that they were there.
“I don’t know what made us go for a walk this morning. We usually do, but, like, sometimes, you know, you just don’t want to do it. Things happen. But this morning we’re like, no, let’s go ahead and get out,” she told KHOU.
