Woman discovers newborn in Sylvania Township refuse bin

10/11/2001

A newborn girl was found in a trash bin at an apartment complex on Holland-Sylvania Road near Sylvania Avenue, police said.

She was admitted to Toledo Children's Hospital, where she was listed in serious condition.

The baby was in the neo-natal intensive care unit in the children's hospital inside Toledo Hospital. Sylvania Township police were searching last night for the mother.

The baby was discovered by a woman dumping trash into the bin at the Wellington House Apartments, 4312 Holland-Sylvania, police said.

The infant, described as white and probably only a few hours old, was in a plastic department store bag in the container, about 40 yards from Holland-Sylvania, township detective Jim Rettig said.

The woman, who lives in the apartment complex, called police at 7:30 p.m. and told them what she found. Police removed the baby.

“She said she was throwing trash away and heard a noise,” Detective Rettig said. “She thought it was a cat and started to walk away. But she heard the noise again and came back and found a baby inside a plastic bag.”

Police searched the trash bin and brought in a tracking dog, seeking clues to the identity of the mother.

“The main thing is the baby is [alive], and thank God the lady investigated it when she took some trash there,” Sgt. Bob Colwell said. Police are asking anyone with information about the infant to call the police department. “Somebody out there is going to have to know something,” Sergeant Colwell said.

After some initial investigation, police theorize that whomever left the baby in the trash bin probably was from somewhere other than the apartment complex. The trash bin is visible from the roadway.