ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Officials in Alaska said Tuesday they are still attempting to identify a newborn that was found abandoned in a cardboard box on street corner in Fairbanks in frigid conditions on New Year’s Eve.
The child, known as Teshawn, continues to be in good health and in the care of the Office of Children’s Services, Alaska State Troopers said in a statement.
Troopers have taken a DNA sample and will submit it to a database as part of the ongoing effort to determine immediate family, the statement said.
Troopers have said they were notified about the abandoned baby Friday afternoon, when the wind chill factor was reported at minus 12.
A woman posted on social media that she found the baby. The post included included a video that showed a baby swaddled in a box and a note.
The note, written from the child’s perspective, said, “Please help me!!!”
The note indicated the child was born at 6 a.m. Friday, but added that the baby’s mother and grandparents didn’t have food or money to provide care.
The post was taken down or made private, and the person who posted it hasn’t responded to messages from The Associated Press.
The note found with the infant also said the child’s parents lived on a certain street in Fairbanks, but troopers on Tuesday said it’s entirely possible that the baby came “from a different location in the Fairbanks area.”
Alaska has a so-called safe haven law that allows parents to legally surrender an infant under certain conditions, such as leaving the baby in the physical custody of someone such as a peace officer, doctor, hospital employee or firefighter or with someone they believe would provide appropriate care. The law applies to babies younger than 21 days old.
