Abandoned Newborn Boy Found in Ellisville

Update: Sgt. Nancy Walker of the Ellisville Police Department emailed this statement to Ballwin-Ellisville Patch at 5:30 p.m. For the latest on this story, please click here:

At approximately 4 p.m. today, this department received information of a 19 year-old female (a West County-area resident) who had been admitted to a local hospital requiring post childbirth treatment. The young lady was admitted at about 3 p.m. and is currently hospitalized in good condition. Ellisville detectives responded to the hospital and after interviewing the young lady, determined that she is the mother of the abandoned child on Westridge Parc Lane earlier today. Detectives are continuing the investigation to determine the events that led the mother to abandon her child.

Update: 1:06 p.m.

Ellisville police said a newborn baby boy wrapped in a wet towel was found in a wooded common area between two homes on Westridge Parc Lane early Thursday.

The baby was found at 7:44 a.m. by a woman who was walking her dog, Ellisville police said. 

Neighbor Cathie Marks, who lives just east of where the baby was discovered, said in an email that her neighbor, a senior citizen, was walking to her daughter's house on Westridge Parc Lane which sits behind her home. The woman then discovered something wrapped in a towel, moving, with noise coming from it.

Ellisville Police Sgt. Nancy Walker said the call to her department identified the object as "a group of puppies wrapped in a towel."

An officer was sent to the scene where he discovered the baby, which still had an umbilical cord attached. Walker said dry towels from one of the homes were used to swaddle the newborn boy, who was then taken to the officer's vehicle for warmth; temperatures near Ellisville when the boy was discovered were around 41 degrees, with the morning's low reaching 32 degrees, according to data service Wolfram Alpha.

The newborn boy was transported by a Metro West Fire Protection District ambulance to Mercy Hospital St. Louis, where he was listed in stable condition.

"We're hoping to locate the mother and make sure that she is alright," Marks said.

Anyone with information that may assist with the above investigation is encouraged to contact the Ellisville Police Department. If you would like to contact the department anonymously, you also may do so through St. Louis Regional Crimestoppers.